■lilii 


tihvavy  of  trKe  trheolo^ical  ^minavy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

John  Stuart  Conning,  D.D, 

BM  620  .E6  1920  c.l  j 

Enelow,  H.  G.  1877-1934.     ! 
A  Jewish  view  of  Jesus 


A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

H»W  YORK  •    BOSTON  •   CHICAGO  •  DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •   SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •    BOMBAY  •   CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA.  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


A  JEWISH  VIE 
OF  JESUS 


BY 


H.  G.  ENELOW 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1920 

All  rights  reserved 


COPTEIGHT,  1920. 

BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  May,  1920. 


TO 
MRS.  HENRY  BURNETT 

WITH  GRATEFUL  RECOLLECTION 

OF  THE 

MONDAY  MORNING  BIBLE  CLASS 

IN  KENTUCKY 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     The  Jewish  Interest  of  Jesus      .       i 
II    The  Jewish  Heritage  of  Jesus     .     ii 

III  The  Jewish  Environment  of  Jesus    28 

IV  The    Jewish    Characteristics    of 

Jesus 44 

V    The     Jewish     Element     in     the 

Teachings  of  Jesus      ....     63 

VI    Jesus  and  His  Contemporaries  .      .     84 

VII     The    Jewish    Messiah    Idea    and 

Jesus 106 

VIII     The  Jews  and  the  Death  of  Jesus  133 

IX    Jesus  AND  Jewish  History     .      .      .151 

X    The  Modern  Jewish  Attitude  to 

Jesus 167 


A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

THE  JEWISH  INTEREST  OF  JESUS 

A  STUDY  of  the  relation  of  Jesus  to  the 
Jews,  from  the  Jewish  point  of  view,  is  still 
a  somewhat  hazardous  undertaking,  exciting 
suspicion  or  fear  of  one  kind  or  another. 
Orthodox  Christians  will  suspect  an  element 
of  Irreverence  in  a  Jew's  treatment  of  Jesus. 
The  old-fashioned  Jew,  on  the  other  hand, 
may  object  altogether  to  such  a  discussion, 
as  giving  undue  attention  to  a  forbidden  sub- 
ject. Consideration  of  Jesus  on  the  part  of 
a  Jew  is  regarded  as  a  sign  of  weakness,  if 
not  disloyalty,  as  a  leaning  in  the  wrong  di- 
rection, particularly  if  it  shows  symptoms  of 
admiration  for  Jesus. 

Suspicion  and  prejudice,  however,  should 
not  keep  us  aloof  from  a  subject,  which,  as 


2  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

a  matter  of  fact,  is  of  vital  interest  to  the 
modern  Jew.  Until  the  nineteenth  century, 
Jews,  for  various  reasons,  maintained  silence 
in  regard  to  Jesus.  One  reason,  no  doubt, 
was  that  it  was  not  safe  for  them  to  discuss 
him.  Jews  were  denied  political  rights  in  the 
Western  world,  and,  by  implication,  the  priv- 
ilege of  free  comment  on  the  dominant  re- 
ligion and  its  chief  hero.  Whenever  they 
broke  the  rule  of  silence  —  even  when  forced 
into  religious  disputations  —  they  had  to  pay 
a  heavy  penalty. 

A  unique  exception  was  "  The  Fortifica- 
tion of  Faith,"  a  Hebrew  work  issued  in  the 
year  1593  by  Isaac  of  Troki,  a  Karaite.  It 
contains  a  defense  of  Judaism  and  a  criticism 
of  Christian  dogmas,  and  it  resulted  from  the 
author's  friendly  intercourse  with  Christians 
of  all  schools,  trinitarians  as  well  as  uni- 
tarians, the  latter  having  just  then  found 
shelter  in  Poland  from  the  persecutions  of 
other  countries.     A  Latin  translation  of  this 


THE  JEWISH  INTEREST  OF  JESUS       3 

work,  published  by  a  German  scholar  in  1 68 1 , 
under  the  title  of  "  Satan's  Fiery  Arrows," 
introduced  It  to  the  Christian  world  and 
made  it  popular  with  eighteenth-century  skep- 
tics, Voltaire  remarking  that  It  contained 
all  the  difficulties  which  latter-day  unbeliev- 
ers had  propagated. 

This  book,  however,  sprang  from  un- 
usually favorable  circumstances.  As  a  rule, 
Jews  were  silent  on  the  subject  of  Jesus. 
Besides,  as  long  as  they  lived  apart,  it  was 
of  no  particular  moment  whether  they  had 
any  clear  idea  of  Jesus,  or  no. 

Nowadays  the  situation  is  different.  The 
Jews  are  free,  civilly  as  well  as  intellectually. 
They  live  in  close  contact  with  the  rest  of  the 
world;  they  read  the  same  books,  they  hear 
the  same  lectures,  they  breathe  the  same  at- 
mosphere. It  is,  therefore,  impossible  for 
them  to  Ignore  a  subject  which  is  part  of  the 
very  fabric  of  the  life  round  about  them. 
Moreover,  in  venturing  to  express  his  views 


4  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

on  this  subject,  the  Jew  has  no  more  serious 
obstacle  to  face  than  custom  or  prejudice. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  a  Jew  should 
be  interested  in  Jesus. 

First  of  all,  Jesus  has  become  the  most 
popular,  the  most  studied,  the  most  influen- 
tial figure  in  the  religious  history  of  man- 
kind. This  alone  should  be  enough  to  com- 
pel the  Jew's  attention. 

The  Jew  is  a  religious  being.  All  Jewish 
history  is  the  result  of  religious  passion  and 
purpose,  and,  whatever  is  said  to  the  con- 
trary, the  continuity  of  the  Jew  is  bound  up 
with  the  retention  of  his  religion.  Wipe 
out  the  rehgious  element  from  the  equation 
of  his  hfe,  and  the  Jew  would  cease  automat- 
ically. It  is  just  because  the  Jew  is  so 
wholly  bound  up  with  his  religion,  that  he 
can  tolerate,  or  digest,  all  the  indifference 
and  atheism  found  in  his  midst.  They  are 
a  foreign  substance  not  strong  enough  to  af- 
fect the  general  character  and  endurance  of 


THE  JEWISH  INTEREST  OF  JESUS       5 

his  people.  Had  the  Jewish  religion  been 
obliterated,  for  example,  when  Christianity 
arose,  there  would  be  no  Jews  to-day  —  no 
Jews  of  any  kind.  Religion  belongs  to  the 
Jewish  substance;  all  the  rest  Is  accident. 

As  a  religious  being,  however,  the  Jew 
cannot  help  taking  an  interest  in  the  man  who 
above  all  others  has  played  a  part  in  religious 
history  —  at  least  In  so  far  as  the  latter  has 
touched  the  Western  world.  There  may  be 
more  Mohametans  and  Hindus  in  the  world 
than  Christians  and  Jews.  But  no  Mo- 
hametan  prophet  nor  Hindu  saint  has  exer- 
cised the  same  sway  on  the  heart  and  imag- 
ination of  the  world  as  Jesus.  Whether  we 
like  it  or  no,  Jesus  has  fascinated  mankind. 
Even  in  circles  which  have  discarded  Chris- 
tian dogmas  and  creeds,  Jesus  has  preserved 
his  influence.  Indeed,  in  many  cases  admira- 
tion for  Jesus  has  grown  In  proportion  to  the 
abandonment  of  the  dogmas  of  traditional 
Christianity. 


6  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

This  is  illustrated  by  the  large  number  of 
lives  of  Jesus  that  have  appeared  in  recent 
years.  In  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  we  know,  there  were  many  attacks 
upon  traditional  religion.  Criticism  of  every 
kind,  historical  and  philosophical,  was  di- 
rected against  it.  Many  thought  that  the 
fortress  of  faith  could  not  possibly  endure. 
One  thing,  however,  is  remarkable.  Amid 
all  these  assaults,  the  world  kept  on  study- 
ing Jesus,  and  regarding  him  from  every 
conceivable  angle.  New  biographies  of 
Jesus  were  produced  from  most  diverse 
points  of  view:  from  the  physiological,  the 
psychological,  and  the  pathological  point  of 
view,  as  well  as  from  the  orthodox.  When, 
several  years  ago,  the  theory  was  revived 
that  Jesus  never  existed  —  that  he  was  a 
myth  —  it  only  served  as  an  incentive  to  the 
production  of  new  biographies  of  Jesus. 

The  creation  of  this  literature  is  not  con- 
fined   to    specialists    or    theologians.     Jesus 


THE  JEWISH  INTEREST  OF  JESUS       7 

has  continued  to  occupy  the  pen  of  literary 
authors,  who  have  approached  him  from  the 
human  end,  rather  than  as  theological  stu- 
dents. Recently,  we  have  been  given,  for 
Instance,  Mary  Austin's  book  on  Jesus, 
George  Moore's  novel,  "The  Brook  Ker- 
Ith,"  Mr.  Masefield's  poem,  "  Good  Friday," 
and  Mr.  Shaw's  brilliant  dissertation  In  his 
Preface  to  "  Androcles  and  the  Lion." 
These  Instances  show  how  fascinating  and 
fecund  a  theme  the  life  of  Jesus  offers  to 
modern  students  and  poets. 

Now,  it  would  be  foolish  for  any  one  to 
affirm  that  all  such  writings  are  of  no  In- 
terest to  the  Jew.  They  must  be  of  supreme 
interest,  if  the  Jew  cares  at  all  for  his  spirit- 
ual Integrity  and  honor,  and  for  the  general 
determination  of  religious  truth.  It  Is  im- 
possible for  any  writer  to  discuss  Jesus,  with- 
out touching  upon  the  Jew  and  the  Jew's 
religion,  and  upon  the  relation  of  Jesus  to 
the  Jews.     When  Mr.  Wells,  for  Instance, 


8  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

in  "  Mr.  Brltling  Sees  it  Through,"  avers 
that  the  real  God  of  the  modern  world  is 
Christ,  and  that  God  the  Creator,  whom 
Mr.  Wells  finds  uncongenial,  is  a  survival 
of  ^'  the  Jew  Gbd,"  whom  Christianity  has 
rejected,  he  makes  affirmations  which  the 
Jewish  reader  cannot  ignore,  and  which  even 
an  intelligent  Christian  should  not  leave  un- 
challenged. Similarly,  Mr.  Shaw's  facile 
differentiation  between  Jesus  and  the  Jews, 
with  its  conventional  disparagement  of  the 
Jews,  is  of  import  to  the  Jewish  reader. 
Even  such  brilliant  men  as  Mr.  Shaw  and 
Mr.  Moore,  unfortunately,  do  not  know 
enough  about  the  Jews  and  the  Jewish  re- 
ligion, either  of  the  age  of  Jesus  or  of  any 
other  age,  to  be  able  to  speak  of  them  ac- 
curately. That  their  assertions  perpetuate 
error  in  Christian  minds  is  bad  enough;  that 
they  make  confusion  worse  confounded  for 
uninformed  Jewish  readers,  is  worse. 

I   have   spoken  of  the   interest   that   the 


THE  JEWISH  INTEREST  OF  JESUS       9 

Jew,  as  a  religious  being,  must  take  in  Jesus. 
Another  reason,  however,  is  that  Jesus  was 
a  Jew.  No  sensible  Jew  can  be  indifferent 
to  the  fact  that  a  Jew  should  have  had  such 
a  tremendous  part  in  the  religious  education 
and  direction  of  the  human  race. 

We  often  speak  of  the  religious  mission 
of  the  Jewish  people.  We  speak  of  the 
wonderful  influence  of  Moses,  of  the  Proph- 
ets, not  only  upon  Israel,  but  upon  the  world 
at  large.  How  can  we  ignore  the  work  of 
Jesus?  It  matters  not,  for  the  moment, 
whether  we  consider  him  original  or  no, 
right  or  wrong;  the  fact  of  his  influence 
cannot  be  blinked,  nor  his  connection  with 
the  Jewish  people.  "  The  origins  of  Chris- 
tianity," says  Renan,  "  are  in  Judaism:  they 
have  to  be  set  at  least  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  years  before  Jesus.  In  that  early  age 
there  appeared  the  great  prophets,  creators 
of  an  entirely  new  idea  in  rehgion."  Hence, 
in  order  to  explain  the  rise  of  Christianity, 


lo  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Renan  wrote  a  history  of  the  Jewish  people. 
Similarly,  no  intelligent  Jew  can  fail  to  be 
interested  in  the  one  Jew  whose  name  is  so 
intimately  linked  with  the  origin  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  evolution  of  the  rehgious 
life  of  mankind. 

Nor  is  the  actual  attitude  of  modern  Jews 
to  Jesus  of  any  less  importance.  Historical 
considerations  apart,  there  is  the  practical 
question.  What  do  modern  Jews  think  of 
Jesus?  It  is  a  query  we  cannot  put  aside. 
We  cannot  shut  ourselves  up  in  the  silence 
of  past  centuries.  Be  our  answer  what  it 
may,  we  should  try  to  frame  one. 


THE  JEWISH  HERITAGE  OF  JESUS 

In  her  book  on  Jesus,  Mary  Austin  justly 
emphasizes  the  fact  that  Jesus  was  a  Jew. 
Yet,  recent  years  have  witnessed  attempts  to 
set  Jesus  apart  from  the  Jewish  people. 

This  practice  originated  with  people  an- 
tagonistic to  the  Jew  and  so  convinced  of 
the  inferiority  of  his  race  and  religion,  as 
to  find  it  hard  to  treat  Jesus  as  a  Jew.  Thus, 
Houston  Stewart  Chamberlain,  a  fanatic  on 
raciaHsm,  and  yet  an  admirer  of  Jesus,  in  his 
work  on  "  The  Foundations  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century,"  sought  to  show  that  Jesus, 
being  a  Galilean,  was  not  a  Semite  at  all, 
but  an  Aryan,  as  Galilee  contained  a  con- 
siderable Aryan  element.  On  the  other 
hand,  others  more  interested  in  religion  than 
in  race,  but  equally  loath  to  leave  Jesus  to 
II 


12  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

the  Jews,  have  sought  to  demonstrate  that 
though  Jesus  may  have  sprung  from  the 
Jews,  in  religion  he  differed  from  them  to- 
tally,—  one  might  say  miraculously.  That 
neither  of  these  views  is  based  on  the  truth, 
any  fair  reader  of  the  story  of  Jesus  must 
realize. 

No  matter  how  long  after  the  death  of 
Jesus  the  story  of  his  life,  as  we  have  it, 
was  written,  and  what  guided  its  authors, 
one  thing  stands  out  clearly,  namely,  that  not 
only  did  Jesus  belong  to  the  Jews  in  every 
way,  but  also  that  to  the  very  last  he  was 
fully  conscious  of  that  kinship  and  of  what  it 
implied. 

In  theological  writings  of  the  past  century, 
much  has  been  made  of  the  question  of  the 
self-consciousness  of  Jesus.  There  has  been 
all  manner  of  debate  as  to  what  Jesus 
thought  of  himself  and  his  mission.  In 
other  words,  a  real  effort  has  been  made 
to  penetrate  beyond  the  portrayal  of  Jesus 


THE  JEWISH  HERITAGE  OF  JESUS      13 

by  the  creeds  and  the  churches  to  his  own 
conception  of  himself  and  his  task. 

Now,  If  anything  seems  to  be  clear  about 
the  self-consciousness  of  Jesus,  as  far  as  we 
can  gather  from  the  gospels.  It  is  this :  that 
he  was  conscious  of  his  Jewish  derivation, 
as  well  as  of  his  debt  to  his  Jewish  heritage 
and  his  duty  to  the  Jewish  people.  His 
noblest  teachings  were  Illustrated  by  citations 
from  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  his  most  solemn 
admonitions  were  addressed  to  the  Jewish 
people,  and  his  most  tender  words  were 
spoken  concerning  the  Jewish  people.  "  Oh, 
Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  klllest  the 
prophets  and  stonest  them  which  are  sent 
unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered 
thy  children  together!"  Jesus  would  not 
have  been  Jesus  if  he  had  not  loved  first 
and  last  the  people  from  which  he  sprang 
and  from  whose  heart  his  life-blood  was 
drawn  —  if  he  had  not  been  gratefully  con- 
scious of  his  heritage. 


14  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Unfortunately,  this  fact  has  been  obscured 
by  the  latter-day  quarrel  about  the  originality 
of  Jesus.  This  combat  was  the  natural  off- 
spring of  the  historical  or  comparative 
method  of  study  so  dear  to  the  modern  mind. 
Jesus,  it  is  argued  by  some,  was  not  original 
at  all;  his  teachings  were  borrowed  from 
Hindu  and  Egyptian  sources.  The  chief 
controversy,  however,  has  turned  about  Ju- 
daism. Jewish  writers  have  tried  to  prove 
that  everything  taught  by  Jesus  may  be 
found  in  Jewish  literature,  and  that  there- 
fore he  could  not  be  called  original;  while 
Christians  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  de- 
fend Jesus  against  the  charge  of  borrowing 
or  reproducing  from  Jewish  sources,  lest  his 
originality  be  impugned. 

This  controversy  may  seem  momentous  to 
the  learned  disputants.  But  it  has  very  little 
to  do  with  the  character  of  Jesus  or  the 
worth  of  his  work,  and  one  is  almost  sure 
that  he  himself  would  have  cared  very  little 


THE  JEWISH  HERITAGE  OF  JESUS      15 

about  It.  It  springs  from  a  peculiar  con- 
ception as  to  what  really  constitutes  origin- 
ality, particularly  in  the  spiritual  and  ethical 
sphere,  which  was  preeminently  the  sphere  of 
Jesus'  life  and  work. 

What  is  originality?  We  could  do  no  bet- 
ter than  accept  a  definition  offered  by  Haz- 
litt.  "  Genius  or  originality,"  he  says,  "  is 
for  the  most  part  some  strong  quality  in  the 
mind,  answering  to  and  bringing  out  some 
new  and  striking  quality  in  nature."  "  This," 
he  adds,  "  is  the  test  and  triumph  of  or- 
iginality, not  to  show  us  what  has  never  been, 
and  what  we  may  therefore  very  easily  never 
have  dreamt  of,  but  to  point  out  to  us  what 
is  before  our  eyes  and  under  our  feet,  though 
we  have  had  no  suspicion  of  its  existence, 
for  want  of  sufficient  strength  of  intuition, 
of  determined  grasp  of  mind,  to  seize  and 
retain  it." 

This  Is  the  true  nature  of  originality,  par- 
ticularly in  the  domain  of  spiritual  percep- 


i6         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

tion  and  instruction.  That  is  why  the  Jew- 
ish Prophets  never  pretended  to  teach  any- 
thing new.  What  they  taught,  they  felt, 
was  but  a  renewal,  a  fresh  proclamation  or 
revelation,  of  what  had  been  revealed  and 
proclaimed  long  ago.  "  The  Lord,  the  God 
of  your  fathers,"  Moses  was  to  say  to  Israel, 
''  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac, 
and  the  God  of  Jacob,  hath  sent  me  unto  you ; 
this  is  My  name  for  ever,  and  this  is  My 
memorial  unto  all  generations."  The  pro- 
phetic successors  of  Moses  never  deviated 
from  his  example  of  addressing  their  people 
in  the  name  of  the  God  and  the  faith  of  the 
fathers.  "  When  Israel  was  a  child,"  we 
read  in  Hosea, 

"  When  Israel  was  a  child,  then  I  loved  him, 
And  out  of  Egypt  I  called  My  son. 
The  more  they  called  them,  the  more  they  went 

from  them; 
They  sacrificed  unto  the  Baalim, 
And  offered  to  graven  images. 
And  I,  I  taught  Ephraim  to  walk, 


THE  JEWISH  HERITAGE  OF  JESUS      17 

Taking  them  by  their  arms; 

But  they  knew  not  that  I  healed  them. 

I  drew  them  with  cords  of  a  man 

With  bands  of  love. 

How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim? 

How  shall  I  surrender  thee,  Israel?  " 

In  Jeremiah,  the  Lord  says: 

**  I  remember  for  thee  the  affection  of  thy  youth. 
The  love  of  thine  espousals; 

How  thou  wentest  after  Me  in  the  wilderness, 
In  a  land  that  was  not  sown." 

And  in  Malachi  we  read: 

**  From  the  days  of  your  fathers  ye  have  turned  aside 
From  Mine  ordinances,  and  have  not  kept  them. 
Return  unto  Me,  and  I  will  return  unto  you, 
Saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

In  his  own  way  Jesus  did  what  the  Proph- 
ets had  done :  he  gave  a  fresh  interpretation 
of  the  laws  governing  the  spiritual  life,  a 
fresh  message  concerning  the  meaning  and 
the  purpose  of  religion,  a  new  illumination 
of  the  sense  and  the  object  of  the  old  law 


i8         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

and  of  the  old  prophetic  utterances.  Here 
lay  his  genius  and  originality.  Moreover, 
he  sought  to  teach  his  hearers  and  disciples 
the  need  of  gaining,  each  for  himself,  such 
a  fresh  and  personal  appreciation  of  religion. 
Even  in  this  very  important  matter  Jesus  did 
not  profess  to  say  anything  that  had  never 
been  said  before:  he  could  not  have  pro- 
fessed it  in  view  of  what  he  had  read  in 
Jeremiah  and  the  Psalms.  But  he  did  try 
to  teach  these  essential  truths  and  central 
beauties  of  the  religious  life  in  his  own  way, 
and  through  his  own  experience,  and  by 
means  of  his  own  personal  life.  And  wher- 
ever we  find  true  personality,  we  have  orig- 
inality. Supreme  personality  is  greatest  or- 
iginality. 

To  realize  this,  however,  does  not  mean 
to  lessen  the  value  to  Jesus  of  his  Jewish 
spiritual  heritage.  Mary  Austin  is  certainly 
right  when  she  Insists  that  Jesus  was  a  Jew 


THE  JEWISH  HERITAGE  OF  JESUS     19 

born  and  bred,  and  that  "  always,  to  his 
death,  Judaism  was  there  about  the  roots 
of  his  Hfe."  Indeed,  in  order  to  appreciate 
his  ideal  and  his  work  fully,  we  must  con- 
sider what  ideals  and  thoughts  he  inherited 
from  the  Jewish  people  that  had  produced 
him. 

One  impression  we  cannot  help  gaining  of 
Jesus,  is  that  he  was  not  a  bookish  man.  His 
denunciation  of  the  scribes,  the  scholars  of 
the  time,  we  need  hardly  take  Hterally.  He 
probably  was  not  as  bitter  against  the  scribes 
as  sometimes  he  is  made  out  to  be,  though 
undoubtedly  he  detested  the  pedants  and  the 
hypocrites  among  them.  None  the  less,  we 
may  be  sure  that  his  habits  were  not  those 
of  the  professional  scholar.  They  were 
those  of  the  man  of  the  people,  rather  than 
the  studious  recluse,  of  the  lover  of  the  out 
of  doors,  rather  than  of  the  study.  Yet, 
to  learn  what  sort  of  spiritual  and  intellect- 
ual heritage  Jesus  got  from  his  people,  there 


20         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Is  but  one  thing  for  us  to  do,  namely,  con- 
sider the  Jewish  literature  that  existed  at 
the  time.  For,  In  that  literature  are  stored 
up  the  Ideas  that  helped  mold  his  mind, 
and  through  It  we  get  an  Idea  of  the  mental 
and  spiritual  atmosphere  that  surrounded 
him. 

Now,  the  first  and  foremost  part  of  his 
heritage  was  the  Jewish  Bible.  We  must 
recall,  however,  that  the  Bible  was  not  as 
ancient  a  book  then  as  it  Is  now.  It  was 
not  as  antique,  as  remote,  as  detached  a 
book.  It  was  still  a  recent  creation  or  com- 
pilation. Parts  of  It  were  less  than  two 
hundred  years  old;  and  as  a  final  compilation 
It  was  even  younger.  It  had  not  become 
as  petrified  a  book  as  to  many  people  It  Is 
to-day.  To  Jesus,  no  doubt.  It  was  a  live 
book.  He  had  his  preferences  in  it  (as. 
Indeed,  had  every  Intelligent  Jew  of  his  day 
and  of  every  other  day)  and  he  read  In  It, 
and  chose  from  It,  according  to  his  prefer- 


THE  JEWISH  HERITAGE  OF  JESUS     21 

ences,  and  according  to  what  appealed  most 
to  his  ethical  sense  and  spiritual  nature.     We 
have  no  reason  to  think  that  he  discarded 
the  Pentateuch;  on  some  important  occasions 
he  quoted  from  it,  and  he  took  from  it  his 
famous  summary  of  the  substance  of  religion. 
But  he  was  particularly  fond  of  certain  por- 
tions of  the  Prophets   and  of  the  Psalms, 
probably  because  in  them  he  found  closest 
kinship  to  his  own  spirit.     In  this  regard,  as 
I  have  said,  he  did  what  spiritual  and  en- 
lightened Jews  have  done  more  or  less  in 
all  ages.     The  Jews  have  not  been  bibliola- 
ters; and  the  individual  Jew,  despite  the  can- 
onization of  the  Bible,  has  always  exercised 
the  privilege  of  choice  and  preference  in  the 
Bible. 

But  the  Bible  was  not  the  whole  of  the 
Jewish  heritage  of  Jesus.  One  still  meets 
with  people  that  think  of  the  Bible  as  the 
product  of  a  single  period.  They  do  not 
realize  that  the  Bible  was  the  product  of 


22  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

many  centuries  of  Jewish  spiritual  activity 
and  creation,  and  that  in  the  Bible  itself 
nothing  is  so  clear  as  the  process  of  spiritual 
development  —  of  the  growth,  the  evolution 
of  religious  and  ethical  ideas.  Nor  do  they 
realize  that  when  the  Bible  was  closed,  it 
meant,  indeed,  the  close  of  a  period  in  Jewish 
life  and  thought,  but  by  no  means  the  cessa- 
tion of  the  spiritual  development  of  the  Jew- 
ish people.  None  the  less,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  that  spiritual  development  went  on,  just 
as  vigorously  and  just  as  vitally  as  before 
the  Bible  had  been  compiled.  And  of  this 
spiritual  activity  we  find  records  in  a  very 
important  part  of  Jewish  literature :  first,  in 
what  is  known  as  the  Apocrypha  and  the 
Pseudo-Epigrapha,  and  secondly,  in  such 
works  as  those  of  the  Jewish  philosopher 
Philo,  who  lived  in  Alexandria  during  the 
very  century  of  Jesus. 

I  shall  not  undertake  to  say  that  Jesus 
directly  or   indirectly  was   acquainted   with 


THE  JEWISH  HERITAGE  OF  JESUS     23 

any  of  those  works.  But  this  may  be  said 
and  ought  not  to  be  lost  sight  of:  It  Is  In 
those  works  that  we  find  a  picture  of  the 
development  of  Jewish  thought  In  the  cen- 
turies between  the  close  of  the  Jewish  Bible 
and  the  birth  of  Jesus,  and  whether  or  no 
Jesus  himself  had  any  actual  contact  with 
them,  they  formed  part  of  the  thought-life 
Into  which  he  was  born,  part  of  the  spiritual 
atmosphere  that  he  breathed.  As  it  would 
be  Impossible  to  understand  him  fully  with- 
out knowledge  of  the  Jewish  Bible,  so  it  is 
Impossible  to  understand  him  fully  —  or 
shall  I  say  to  explain  him  fully?  —  without 
familiarity  with  those  other  parts  of  Jewish 
literature  and  without  proper  appreciation 
of  their  content. 

And  what  do  those  parts  of  Jewish  litera- 
ture teach  us? 

First,  that  the  centuries  between  the  close 
of  the  Old  Testament  and  Jesus  were  not 


24         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

dead  centuries,  but  full  of  life  and  activity, 
producing  a  rich  and  varied  literature  of 
their  own. 

Secondly,  that  no  less  than  previous  pe- 
riods they  were  a  period  of  religious  develop- 
ment for  the  Jewish  people :  that  the  old  re- 
ligious ideas  were  not  carried  along  merely 
as  the  dead  luggage  of  the  past,  but  that 
they  were  interpreted  and  amplified  accord- 
ing to  the  deeper  insight  and  fuller  knowl- 
edge of  the  times. 

Thirdly,  that  certain  religious  ideas,  found 
in  the  Old  Testament  not  at  all,  or  merely 
in  embryo,  first  grew  up  during  that  period, 
or  found  their  full  and  conscious  expression: 
as,  for  example,  the  idea  of  immortality. 

And,  finally,  we  are  taught  by  this  litera- 
ture that  during  this  period,  as  at  all  other 
times,  there  was  no  spiritual  uniformity  in 
Israel,  there  being  room  and  recognition 
within  its  household  for  men  of  different 
spiritual  temperaments  and  religious  views. 


THE  JEWISH  HERITAGE  OF  JESUS     25 

The  essentials  were  the  same;  in  particulars, 
they  differed. 

It  is  necessary  to  consider  this  part  of 
the  Jewish  heritage  of  Jesus  in  order  to 
understand  aright  his  relation  to  it.  He 
was  not  hostile  in  his  attitude  to  it.  He  was 
very  little  of  a  controversialist.  I  doubt 
whether  he  willingly  would  have  said  a  word 
against  a  single  law,  except  insofar  as  it  was 
used  to  thwart  rather  than  to  advance  true 
religion.  "  If  ye  had  known  what  this  mean- 
eth,  '  I  desire  mercy  and  not  sacrifice,'  ye 
would  not  have  condemned  the  guiltless." 
It  was  not  his  habit  to  go  about  carping  at 
the  commandments,  or  their  abuses.  He 
did  not  bother  much  about  the  tares  in  the 
garden  of  life.  His  concern  was  for  the 
wheat,  and  his  eye  on  the  final  harvest,  and 
how  to  help  it  grow. 

"  The  kingdom  of  heaven,"  he  taught,  "  is  likened 
unto  a  man  that  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field:  but 
while  men  slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  tares 
also  among  the  wheat,  and  went  away.     But  when 


26  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

the  blade  sprang  up,  and  brought  forth  fruit,  then 
appeared  the  tares  also.  And  the  servants  of  the 
householder  came  and  said  unto  him,  Sir,  didst  thou 
not  sow  good  seed  in  thy  field?  whence  then  hath 
it  tares?  And  he  said  unto  them.  An  enemy  hath 
done  this.  And  the  servants  say  unto  him.  Wilt 
thou  then  that  we  go  and  gather  them  up  ?  But  he 
saith.  Nay;  lest  haply  while  ye  gather  up  the  tares, 
ye  root  up  the  wheat  with  them.  Let  both  grow 
together  until  the  harvest:  and  in  the  time  of  the 
harvest  I  will  say  to  the  reapers.  Gather  up  first 
the  tares,  and  bind  them  in  bundles  to  burn  them: 
but  gather  the  wheat  into  my  bam."  {Matt.  13, 
24-30) 

And  therein  lay  the  originality  of  Jesus. 
He  made  religion  a  personal  matter.  Re- 
ligion and  personality  with  him  became  one. 
Religion,  he  said,  could  be  something  real 
only  when  expressed  through  a  person.  One 
cannot  know  God  save  one  knows  man,  or, 
as  he  was  fond  of  putting  it,  with  the  thought 
of  the  fatherly  relation  between  man  and 
God  ever  In  his  mind,  one  cannot  know  the 
Father   save   one   knows   the   Son.      "  I    do 


THE  JEWISH  HERITAGE  OF  JESUS     27 

nothing  of  myself,  but  as  the  Father  taught 
me.''  Moreover,  a  similar  personal  experi- 
ence and  expression  of  Religion  he  asked 
of  others.  "  He  that  hath  ears,  let  him 
hear!"  His  message  was  not,  Make  me, 
or  my  words,  the  means  of  your  religion.  It 
was.  Let  religion  be  to  you  and  with  you 
what  it  is  to  me  and  with  me,  a  means  of 
personal  Hfe,  an  expression  of  personal  ex- 
perience, a  token  of  personal  relationship 
with  God,  of  filial  self-identification  with 
God.  "  The  kingdom  of  Heaven,"  he  said, 
according  to  the  Sayings  of  Jesus,  discovered 
recently,  "  is  within  you,  and  whosoever  him- 
self shall  know  shall  find  it;  and  having  found 
ye  shall  know  yourselves,  that  sons  and 
daughters  are  ye  of  the  Father  Almighty,  and 
ye  shall  know  that  ye  are  in  His  precincts, 
and  ye  are  the  city." 

It  is  thus  that  Jesus  through  his  own  per- 
sonality interpreted,  transmitted,  and  trans- 
fused his  Jewish  heritage. 


THE  JEWISH  ENVIRONMENT  OF 
JESUS 

"  If  you  would  understand  the  poet," 
Goethe  has  said,  *'  go  to  the  poet's  coun- 
try." His  counsel  has  been  seconded  by  the 
best  modern  criticism  and  psychology.  No 
lesson  of  science  is  accepted  more  generally 
than  this:  that  two  main  factors  enter  into 
the  making  of  the  individual,  namely,  hered- 
ity and  environment.  Of  course,  both  to- 
gether do  not  explain  completely  any  real 
personality.  Wherever  we  find  true  person- 
ality, we  find  something  added  to  the  sum 
total,  to  the  resultant,  of  both  heredity  and 
environment.  It  is  this  addition  that  often 
forms  the  unique  personality  —  a  source  of 
wonder  and  an  object  of  admiration.  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  for  example,  was  something 
28 


JEWISH  ENVIRONMENT  OF  JESUS     29 

more  than  the  product  of  antecedent  and  sur- 
rounding forces.  None  the  less,  heredity 
and  environment  are  surely  active  in  the  crea- 
tion of  even  the  most  independent  and  un- 
explainable  individuals,  though  their  work- 
ing may  not  always  be  patent.  To  under- 
stand the  character  and  the  work  of  even  the 
greatest,  most  unique,  men  we  must  take 
these  factors  into  account. 

We  cannot  do  otherwise  in  the  case  of 
Jesus.  We  have  seen  how  essential  an  ap- 
preciation of  his  Jewish  heritage  is  to  an 
understanding  of  his  personality  and  his  doc- 
trine. Who  can  hope  to  understand  Jesus 
without  a  proper  estimate  of  those  spiritual 
treasures  of  the  Jewish  people  that  Jesus 
loved,  of  those  spiritual  fountains  from 
which  he  drank  from  beginning  to  end? 
Nor  can  one  possibly  hope  to  grasp  the  mean- 
ing of  Jesus's  work  and  the  secret  of  his  per- 
sonality—  with  its  fusion  of  diverse  quali- 
ties,  tenderness   and  passion,   mildness   and 


30  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

vehemence,  eloquence  and  eluslveness,  fervor 
and  reticence  —  without  some  appreciation 
of  the  environment  In  which  he  lived  and 
moved  and  taught. 

That  an  uncommon  scene  witnessed  the 
growth  and  work  of  Jesus,  we  all  know.  It 
may  be  said,  however,  that  It  was  one  of 
the  most  unique  and  dramatic  scenes  in  all 
human  history  —  a  scene  of  spiritual  unrest, 
among  a  people  accustomed  by  nature  and 
habit  to  spiritual  striving,  a  scene  of  feverish 
agitation  and  excitement,  of  political  and 
religious  ferment.  "  Outside  of  the  French 
Revolution,"  says  Renan,  "  no  historic  milieu 
was  so  well  adapted  as  the  one  In  which  Jesus 
was  formed  to  develop  those  hidden  forces 
which  humanity  holds  In  reserve  and  which 
it  discloses  only  In  its  days  of  fever  and 
peril."  It  was  a  time  of  wars  and  rumors 
of  war,  of  Roman  oppression  and  Jewish 
rebellion,  a  period  of  political  ambitions  and 
intrigue;   in   such   an   age   arose  Jesus  with 


JEWISH  ENVIRONMENT  OF  JESUS     31 

his  gospel  of  gentleness,  of  love,  of  a  dreamy 
detachment  from  the  material  world,  with 
his  affirmation  of  the  supremacy  of  spirit- 
ual intuitions,  discernments,  and  devotions. 
This  very  contrast  between  himself  and  the 
mad  whirl  of  his  times,  no  doubt,  served  to 
arrest  attention  and  to  gain  for  him  a  hear- 
ing and  a  following;  it  gave  dramatic  dis- 
tinctness to  his  personality,  and  invested  it 
with  the  originality  about  the  genuineness  of 
which  so  many  of  late  have  taken  to  quarrel- 
ing. A  glimpse  of  his  environment  we  must 
therefore  try  to  get,  in  order  to  perceive 
both  his  origin  and  orginality. 

What  was  the  character  of  this  environ- 
ment? It  was  Jewish  from  beginning  to 
end,  and  it  lay  between  Galilee  and  Jeru- 
salem. Galilee  and  Jerusalem,  with  all  they 
signified  in  point  of  ideals,  customs,  contem- 
porary struggles  and  hopes,  with  all  their 
pecuHarities  of  Nature  and  of  people:  these 
two  formed  the  environment  of  Jesus.     We 


32         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

can  understand  him  better,  if  we  take  this 
into  account. 

First,  there  was  Galilee,  the  northern  Jew- 
ish province,  with  Nazareth  as  one  of  its 
numerous  and  densely  peopled  towns.  It  is 
commonly  accepted  nowadays  that  Jesus  was 
born  in  Nazareth,  though  the  old  tradition 
represents  him  as  a  native  of  Bethlehem  of 
Judea,  in  order  to  conform  his  place  of  birth 
to  an  ancient  prophecy  (which  in  reality  is 
irrelevant).  No  matter,  however,  where  he 
was  born,  in  Nazareth  he  grew  up  and  in 
Galilee  he  spent  almost  all  his  life.  Even 
when  in  the  closing  years  of  his  life  he  en- 
tered upon  what  is  called  his  pubhc  ministry 
and  appeared  in  Judea,  he  was  wont  to  re- 
turn as  quickly  and  as  frequently  as  possible 
to  the  Galilee  he  knew  and  loved. 

Now,  Galilee  was  a  beautiful  country,  the 
very  country  for  the  life,  the  thought,  the 
love  of  a  dreamer  and  poet  —  a  poet  of 
Nature  and  of  human  life.     It  was  a  land  of 


JEWISH  ENVIRONMENT  OF  JESUS     33 

superb  situation  and  enchanting  scenery.  It 
was  full  of  hills  and  dales.  From  any  lofty 
spot  the  eye  could  travel  to  the  mountains 
round  about:  to  the  West,  Mount  Carmel, 
dropping  gently  to  the  sea;  further  away, 
the  mountains  of  Shechem  and  Gilboa  and 
Tabor,  with  their  wonderful  historic  asso- 
ciations. Through  a  gap  between  the  hills 
of  Shunem  and  Tabor,  one  saw  the  Valley  of 
Jordan  and  the  high  plains  of  Perea,  forming 
a  straight  line  to  the  East.  To  the  north 
there  were  the  mountains  of  Safed,  and  fur- 
ther on,  Hermon,  with  the  life  of  large  cities 
teeming  behind  its  peaks,  while  to  the  south 
stretched  the  hills  of  Judea,  with  the  beauty 
of  Jerusalem  beyond.  Such  was  GaHlee, 
and  such  in  particular  the  situation  of  Naz- 
areth. Renan,  who  visited  it  himself,  dwells 
on  the  fascination  of  Nazareth  and  its  sur- 
roundings. "  No  place  in  the  world,"  he 
says,  "  was  made  so  well  for  dreams  of 
perfect  happiness." 


34  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Nor  must  we  forget  the  people.  Galilee 
was  one  of  the  most  populous  provinces  of 
the  land.  At  the  time  of  Jesus  It  was  under 
Roman  rule,  and  Its  population  was  the  most 
mixed  In  Israel.  It  contained  Phoenicians, 
Arabs,  Syrians,  and  Greeks,  as  well  as  Jews. 
Besides,  It  had  suffered  all  kinds  of  admix- 
tures In  the  course  of  its  variegated  history. 
Nevertheless,  the  life  of  Galilee  was  Jewish, 
though  in  many  ways  It  differed  from  that 
of  Judea.  At  no  time  was  there  complete 
uniformity  in  all  things  throughout  Israel  — ■ 
neither  during  the  period  of  the  Bible  nor 
after.  The  Galileans  were  more  Informal 
than  the  Judeans,  less  bound  by  rules  and 
regulations,  more  spontaneous,  less  learned 
and  more  poetic,  less  legaHstlc  and  more 
lyrical.  Certain  customs  and  ceremonies  of 
theirs  differed  from  Judea.  Their  language 
was  not  as  accurate  nor  as  pure  as  In  Jeru- 
salem, which  the  men  of  the  latter  attributed 
to  lack  of  good  teachers  and  to  Indifference. 


JEWISH  ENVIRONMENT  OF  JESUS     35 

Yet,  the  Galileans  did  not  fail  to  produce 
some  illustrious  rabbis,  who  had  a  share  in 
the  making  of  the  Talmud.  Jose  the  GaU- 
lean,  the  learned  and  magnanimous  rabbi  of 
the  first  century,  was  one  of  them. 

The  Galileans  cared  more  for  the  Agada 
than  the  Halakha  —  for  the  poetic,  ethical, 
and  spiritual  interpretation  of  Scripture 
rather  than  the  legalistic.  Withal,  they 
were,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Josephus, 
brave,  courageous,  and  industrious.  They 
knew  no  cowardice.  For  several  centuries 
they  gave  heroes  and  martyrs  to  the  cause 
of  Jewish  emancipation  from  the  yoke  of 
Rome.  They  were  a  temperamental  people, 
according  to  the  Talmud,  excitable  and  en- 
thusiastic, capable  of  profound  hate  as  well 
as  of  ardent  love  and  devotion.  Moreover, 
they  learnt  the  lessons  of  tolerance  from 
their  relation  with  the  outside  world  —  with 
Greek  speech  and  Roman  officials.  In  a 
word,  they  combined  the  quahties  bred  by 


36  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

contact  with  the  mountains,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  with  a  cosmopolitan  life,  on  the 
other. 

Amid  such  scenes  Jesus  grew  up.  If  we 
understand  the  Galileans,  it  is  easier  to  un- 
derstand him;  if  we  understand  Galilee,  with 
its  mountains  and  lakes  and  rivers,  and  far- 
off  sea,  it  is  easier  to  realize  the  inspiration 
of  his  thought  and  far-off  dream. 

To  no  people  in  the  world  have  the  moun- 
tains meant  and  said  just  the  things  they 
meant  and  said  to  the  Jews;  nor  the  sea. 
They  were  reminders  of  the  grandeur  and 
of  the  deep  mystery  of  life,  and  of  its  divin- 
ity. "  Thy  righteousness  is  like  the  mighty 
mountains;  Thy  judgments  are  the  great 
deep." 

Meditating  amid  the  mountains  and  on 
the  shore  of  the  sea,  Jesus  realized  the  mean- 
ing of  Righteousness  and  the  depth  and 
power  of  the  Spirit.  He  perceived  the 
transiency    and    unimportance    of    material 


JEWISH  ENVIRONMENT  OF  JESUS     37 

things,  and  the  sovereign  significance  of  God. 
He  realized  his  own  unity  with  his  Father; 
and  that  that  unity  was  really  the  only  thing 
that  mattered.  To  know  God  was  to  know 
himself,  and  to  know  himself  was  to  know 
God.  "  As  the  Father  knoweth  me,  even 
so  know  I  the  Father."  "  No  man  knoweth 
the  son,  but  the  Father;  neither  knoweth 
any  man  the  Father,  save  the  son."  "  I  do 
nothing  of  myself,  but  as  the  Father  taught 
me,  I  speak  these  things."  To  understand 
man  was  to  understand  God;  to  understand 
God  was  to  understand  man:  neither  could 
be  understood  fully  without  the  other. 

*'  'Tis  the  sublime  of  man, 
Our  noontide  Majesty,  to  know  ourselves 
Parts  and  proportions  of  one  wondrous  whole! 
This  fraternizes  man,  this  constitutes 
Our  charities  and  bearings.     But  'tis  God 
Diffused    through    all,    that    doth    make    all    one 
whole!  " 

The  modern  poet  perceives  in  the  little 


38  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

flower  In  the  crannied  wall  an  intimation  of 
the  secret  of  existence :  Jesus  was  taught  by 
the  mountains  and  the  sea  of  Galilee,  as  well 
as  by  the  lily  and  the  sparrow.  "  Ye  ask," 
we  read  in  the  New  Sayings  of  Jesus,  "  who 
are  they  that  draw  us  up  to  heaven,  if  the 
kingdom  Is  in  heaven?  Verily  I  say,  the 
fowls  of  the  heaven,  and  every  creature  that 
is  under  the  earth  or  upon  the  earth,  and  the 
fishes  of  the  sea,  these  are  they  that  draw 
you!" 

Moreover,  to  know  the  Galileans,  I  said, 
is  to  understand  better  the  personality  of 
Jesus.  He,  too,  is  a  man  of  temperament. 
He  Is  capable  of  love  and  of  hate,  of  devo- 
tion and  of  detachment;  a  man  of  fervid 
friendships  and  of  solitude.  His  mood  is 
not  always  the  same.  He  Is  lyrical,  rather 
than  legalistic.  He  does  not  set  out  to  break 
the  laws,  but  he  knows  that  character  is 
greater  than  conformity.  He  is  loyal  and 
devout,  true  to  the  past,  but  also  to  himself. 


JEWISH  ENVIRONMENT  OF  JESUS     39 

He  is  now  tolerant  and  now  contemptuous 
of  the  Gentiles.     A  true  Galilean! 

Some  would  have  us  believe  that  Jesus  was 
an  Essene,  and  that  he  learnt  his  lessons 
from  the  Essenes.  On  this  idea  is  founded 
Mr.  Moore's  imaginative  novel  about  Jesus. 
The  Essenes  were  one  of  the  three  parties 
then  known  among  the  Jews,  the  others  being 
the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees.  They 
were  mystics,  ascetics,  and  communists  —  a 
brotherhood  scattered  through  various  cities, 
according  to  Josephus,  though  it  is  commonly 
held  that  they  lived  apart  in  some  one  place. 

In  reality,  however,  we  have  no  right  to 
identify  Jesus  with  the  Essenes.  Like  all 
great  personalities,  Jesus  was  no  party  man; 
he  was  himself:  he  never  really  belonged  to 
a  crowd,  nor  could  he  attach  himself  to  one; 
time  and  again  we  see  him  leave  the  multi- 
tude for  the  mountains  or  the  sea.  Insofar, 
however,  as  he  belonged  to  any  group,  it 
was  the  Pharisees,  whom  he  is  said  to  have 


40         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

denounced  repeatedly,  but  whose  schools  he 
attended  and  In  whose  synagogues  he  prayed, 
studied,  and  preached. 

The  Pharisees  were  the  teachers  of  the 
people;  they  were  the  spiritual  leaders;  they 
were  the  heads  of  the  schools  and  of  the 
synagogues;  they  were  the  true  friends  of 
the  people.  And  though  in  Galilee  their  ac- 
tivity was  not  as  vigorous  as  In  Judea,  the 
synagogues  and  the  schools,  there  as  else- 
where, were  under  their  influence  and  direc- 
tion. The  Sadducees  were  the  priests  and 
aristocrats,  and  their  domain  was  Jerusalem. 

What  did  Jesus  know  of  Jerusalem,  and 
in  what  way  did  Jerusalem  form  part  of  his 
environment  ? 

Like  every  loyal  Galilean,  Jesus  was  de- 
voted to  Jerusalem.  It  was  part  of  every 
good  Jew's  hfe  to  make  periodic  pilgrim- 
ages to  the  capital  and  the  Temple.  No 
doubt,  Jesus,  in  his  youth,  made  such  pil- 
grimages, and  we  can  imagine  what  a  deep 


JEWISH  ENVIRONMENT  OF  JESUS     41 

impression  the  life  of  the  capital  must  have 
made  on  his  quick,  poetic  mind.  At  first, 
the  glory  of  it  may  well  have  captivated  him. 
But  as  his  knowledge  grew  fuller,  as  his 
perception  deepened,  as  he  realized  the  mean- 
ing of  the  intrigues,  and  ambitions,  and  ri- 
valries, and  hypocrisies  that  centered  about 
the  Temple,  how  keen  must  have  been  the 
pang  of  his  disappointment!  And  when 
from  the  riotous  and  pompous  whirl  of  Je- 
rusalem he  returned  to  the  quiet  hills  of 
Galilee,  how  must  his  heart  have  mourned 
over  the  corruption  of  the  capital!  Such 
experience  —  the  revolt  of  the  dreamer  at 
the  violation  of  his  dream  —  led  finally  to 
his  clash  with  the  Temple  forces  and  de- 
nunciation of  the  pompous  and  hypocritical 
Temple  piety.  It  was  like  the  indignation 
of  Elijah  at  the  court  of  Ahab,  like  that  of 
Amos  at  Bethel  —  or  of  Jeremiah  at  the 
Jerusalem  of  his  day.  It  was  not  the  de- 
nunciation of  hate,  but  the  denunciation  of 


42  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

love  —  of  the  idealist  against  the  corruptors 
of  the  city  he  had  loved  and  dreamed  about 
and  ideahzed  from  afar.  "  Oh,  Jerusalem, 
Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the  prophets, 
and  stonest  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee, 
how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  chil- 
dren together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her 
chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would 
not  I" 

What  was  the  character  and  the  great 
work  of  Jesus?  He  was  a  man  of  vision, 
a  revealer,  a  spiritual  perceiver  and  dreamer, 
a  man  who  sought  to  point  out  the  eternal 
things  of  life  —  the  things  that  mean  most 
in  the  universe.  More  and  more  he  real- 
ized the  insignificance  of  the  outward  and  the 
temporary,  and  the  supremacy  of  the  spirit. 
And  that  conviction  and  realization  he  ex- 
pressed through  his  own  life  and  death. 
That  Is  what  has  made  him  the  fascinating 
figure    he    has    formed    In    human    history. 


JEWISH  ENVIRONMENT  OF  JESUS     43 

That  is  what  still  gives  him  a  place  in  the 
hearts  of  men  —  weary,  as  were  many  round 
about  him,  of  plotting  and  plodding  for  ex- 
ternal things,  for  things  of  little  worth. 

This  Jesus  we  can  understand  only  in  con- 
nection with  his  environment.  One  to  whom 
Jesus  is  but  a  miracle-monger,  a  controver- 
sialist on  the  oMigatoriness  or  futiHty  of  the 
law,  or  a  metaphysical  concept,  might  neg- 
lect the  study  of  his  Jewish  environment. 
But  he  to  whom  Jesus  is  the  great  dreamer, 
the  spokesman  of  the  spiritual  ideal,  the 
appraiser  of  the  essential  values  of  life,  the 
man  who  discerned  the  difference  between 
show  and  reality,  between  the  fleeting  and 
the  eternal,  and  tried  to  fix  the  eyes  of  his 
fellow-men  on  the  real  and  the  eternal, —  to 
such,  an  appreciation  of  the  environment  of 
Jesus  is  an  inevitable  prerequisite  to  an  ap- 
preciation of  Jesus  himself. 


THE  JEWISH  CHARACTERISTICS 
OF  JESUS 

A  STUDY  of  the  Jewish  characteristics  of 
JeSus  is  compHcated  by  the  pecuHar  notion 
the  world  still  has  of  the  character  of  the 
Jew.  Nothing  would  look  more  incongruous 
than  a  collocation  of  the  diverse  estimates 
of  the  Jewish  character. 

Suffice  to  say  that  extremes  have  met  in 
the  appraisal  of  the  Jew.  To  some,  the 
Jewish  character  is  all  gold,  to  others  it  is 
all  dross.  Some  see  In  the  Jew  the  proto- 
type of  Idealism  and  faith;  to  others  he  is 
a  monument  of  materialism  and  calculation. 
To  some,  he  is  the  typical  anarchist;  to 
others,  he  is  legalism  incarnate.  To  some, 
he  is  the  world's  leader  of  progress,  to 
others,  he  is  the  predestined  conservative. 
44 


JEWISH  CHARACTERISTICS         45 

Thus,  there  are  no  two  opposltes  of  virtue 
and  vice  which,  at  one  time  or  another,  have 
not  been  attributed  to  the  Jew. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Jew,  as  such,  is 
neither  the  one  extreme,  nor  the  other.  The 
Jew  represents,  as  such,  neither  the  gold  of 
Idealism,  nor  the  dross  of  materialism,  al- 
together. Like  the  rest  of  human  life,  Jew- 
ish life  has  formed  a  mixture,  a  skein  of 
tangled  yarn,  good  and  ill  together,  though 
certain  forces  have  from  the  very  start  sought 
to  make  the  soul  of  goodness  and  Idealism 
prevail  In  Israel.  The  Jew  has  been  a  com- 
posite; and  the  Jew  knows  it,  if  no  one  else. 

Among  the  ancient  rabbis,  close  to  the  age 
of  Jesus,  we  find  true  descriptions  of  the 
character  of  the  Jew.  "  A  peculiar  people, 
this,"  said  one  rabbi,  referring  to  the  Jews, 
"their  character  is  hard  to  fathom;  when 
Aaron  asked  them  to  give  for  the  golden 
calf,  they  did  so,  and  when  Moses  asked  for 
the    tabernacle,    they    also    gave."     "  The 


46  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Jews,"  said  another  rabbi,  "  are  likened  in 
Scripture  to  the  stars  and  the  dust;  and  so 
they  are:  when  they  ascend,  they  go  up  to 
the  stars;  and  when  they  descend,  they  go 
down  to  the  dust." 

Thus  the  old  teachers  sought  to  describe 
the  contrary  characteristics  of  their  people. 
Some  Jews  to  them  were  disciples  of  Abra- 
ham, others  disciples  of  Balaam.  Jeremiah 
had  hkened  Israel  to  two  baskets  of  figs: 
"  the  good  figs,  very  good;  and  the  bad,  very 
bad,  that  cannot  be  eaten,  they  are  so  bad." 
A  variety  of  opposite  dispositions  and  traits, 
indeed,  have  made  up  the  Jewish  character. 
Men  who  know  the  Jewish  people  from 
within  have  time  and  again  recognized  its 
twofoldness,  its  duahty,  as  does  Mr.  Zang- 
will  In  one  of  his  penetrating  poems. 

Perhaps  this  is  why  it  might  be  said  that 
no  one  can  understand  Jesus  so  well  as  the 
sympathetic  Jew.  There  are  those  who 
imagine  that  a  study  of  Jesus  requires  chiefly 


JEWISH  CHARACTERISTICS  47 

a  knowledge  of  languages  and  exegesis. 
Thus  they  set  about  interpreting  and  disen- 
tangling the  gospels.  But  what  is  needed 
even  more  than  Greek  and  hermeneutics  is 
psychology  —  the  sort  of  knowledge,  sym- 
pathy, and  imagination  that  help  one  to  un- 
derstand a  soul.  For  that  reason,  a  sympa- 
thetic and  imaginative  student  like  Renan 
and  a  novelist  like  Mr.  Moore,  despite  their 
errors,  are  apt  to  get  closer  to  the  true  story 
of  Jesus  than  many  a  man  whose  chief  aim 
is  not  the  reading  of  a  soul  but  the  amassing 
of  theological  and  linguistic  footnotes.  Un- 
fortunately, neither  Mr.  Moore  nor  Renan 
have  known  the  Jew  from  within,  and  Renan 
particularly  is  often  led  astray  by  his  racial 
theory,  according  to  which  the  Semitic  race 
differed  radically  from  the  Aryan  race  and 
produced  spiritual  characteristics,  founded 
on  racial  peculiarities,  common  to  all  Semites, 
including  the  Jews.  This  was  the  error  of 
Renan,    which    unwittingly    made    him    the 


48  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

father  of  modern  anti-Semitism,  and  for 
which  he  has  been  reproved  both  by  bibhcal 
students  conversant  with  the  spiritual  differ- 
ence that  existed  between  the  Jews  and  other 
Semites,  and  by  such  a  critic  as  Ferdinand 
Brunetiere,  who  hated  the  racial  theory  as 
subversive  of  all  religion. 

A  man  like  Mr.  Claude  G.  Montefiore, 
in  his  study  of  Jesus,  escapes  the  psychologic 
mistakes  of  Moore  and  Renan,  being  himself 
a  Jew,  and  therefore  able  to  view,  to  realize, 
Jesus  from  within.  His  enthusiasm  may 
carry  him  too  far;  but  not  often. 

"  We  others,"  says  Charles  Peguy,  the 
French  poet,  "  are  also  Jesus's  brothers,  we 
are  his  brothers  through  Adam,  through  our 
father  Adam;  we  are  brothers  of  Jesus  in 
our  humanity.  But  you,  Jews,  you  were  his 
brothers  through  his  very  family  —  brothers 
of  his  race  and  Hneage." 

Indeed,  whatever  has  been  said  to  the  con- 
trary, Jesus  was   a  Jew.     Strange,   indeed, 


JEWISH  CHARACTERISTICS         49 

are  the  ways  of  anti-Semitism.     For  thou- 
sands of  years  the  world  has  had  a  grievance 
against  the  Jews  for  not  acknowledging  Jesus 
as  their  messiah.     He   had  come  unto  his 
own,  they  argued,  and  his  own  not  only  re- 
jected him,  but  they  continue  to  reject  him. 
Yet,  what  some  learned  men  of  late  have 
sought  to  impress  on  our  minds  is  that  Jesus 
was  not  a  Jew  after  all,  not  even  an  Israelite, 
nor  even  a  Semite.     What  Christians  have 
beheved    for    nineteen    centuries,    what    the 
writers  of  the  gospels  unanimously  affirmed 
and  took  pains  to  prove,  what  all  these  years 
the  Jews  have  heen  blamed  for  not  sufficiently 
appreciating,  it  took  some  learned  leaders 
of  modern  anti-Semitism  to  seek  to  wipe  out. 
Chamberlain,  Dehtzsch,  Haupt,  Haeckel  — 
whether    conscious    or    unconscious    anti-Se- 
mites—and   their    outspoken    anti-Semitic 
followers  are  now  affirming  that  Jesus  was 
not  really  a  Jew. 

They  have  their  reasons.     Of  course,  the 


50  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

fundamental,  sub-conscious  argument  prob- 
ably is  this:  Jesus  was  a  good  man;  a  good 
man  cannot  be  thought  of  as  a  Jew;  there- 
fore, Jesus  was  not  a  Jew.  I  have  already 
referred  to  Houston  Stewart  Chamberlain's 
lucubrations  on  the  subject.  According  to 
him,  Jesus,  a  native  of  Galilee,  could  not 
possibly  be  a  Jew  by  race.  The  more  Cham- 
berlain thinks  about  it,  the  more  ecstatic  his 
conviction  grows  and  the  profounder  his  con- 
tempt for  those  that  still  hold  that  a  Galilean, 
and  especially  a  good  Galilean,  could  have 
been  a  Jew. 

Professor  Haupt  is  not  satisfied  with  the 
mere  negations  of  Chamberlain.  He  goes 
further.  Jesus,  according  to  his  gospel,  is 
an  Aryan,  an  Indo-German,  nothing  less  blue 
than  Greek  blood  flows  in  the  veins  of  Jesus, 
and  the  Greek  spirit  dwells  in  him.  Thus 
alone  Professor  Haupt  can  account  for  the 
universalism  and  spiritual  liberty  of  Jesus. 

Other  writers   of  the   same   school  have 


JEWISH  CHARACTERISTICS         51 

made  the  final  summary  on  the  subject. 
*'  Not  from  Judea,"  says  one  of  them,  "  but 
from  Galilee,  the  heathen  country,  came  the 
man  who  to  the  base  materialism  of  the  He- 
brew opposed  the  loftiest  idealism  and  who, 
realizing  the  perversity  of  Jewish  thinking, 
preached  a  doctrine  that  marked  a  complete 
reversal  of  Jewish  ideas."  Thus  runs  the 
latter-day  message.  And  again :  ''  While 
the  Jew  saw  his  chief  goal  in  earthly  gain 
and  enjoyment,  the  Galilean  taught  disdain 
of  all  earthly  goods  and  sought  happiness  in 
poverty  and  in  spiritual  satisfaction,  in  the 
cultivation  of  all  the  virtues,  in  selflessness 
and  in  purity  of  thought.  He  sought  the 
weal  of  the  soul  in  the  dominion  of  the  ideals, 
which  he  designated  as  the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  spiritual  world  of  Christ  and  that  of  the 
Jews  are  as  far  apart  as  two  suns."  No 
wonder  we  are  told  that  "  it  marks  a  perfect 
blindness  to  psychologic  facts  for  one  to  find 
it  possible  to  regard  Jesus  as  a  Jew." 


52  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

There  are  so  many  inaccuracies  in  these 
statements  that  it  would  take  more  than  one 
chapter  to  point  them  out  in  detail.  Pro- 
fessor Koenig  has  both  cited  and  refuted 
them  in  his  httle  book  on  "  The  Chief 
Dogma  of  Anti-Semitism"  (concerning 
which,  written  in  German,  we  should  have 
heard  more  had  it  not  appeared  just  before 
the  outbreak  of  the  war) .  But  it  is  this  very 
bhndness  to  psychologic  facts  that  is  behind 
the  efforts  of  those  who  have  been  trying  to 
tear  the  story  of  Jesus  out  of  the  history 
of  the  Jewish  people,  as  well  as  of  those  who 
find  it  hard  to  reconcile  the  character  of  Jesus 
with  that  of  the  Jewish  people.  Better 
knowledge  of  Jewish  psychology,  of  the  soul 
of  the  Jewish  people,  would  remove  many  a 
difficulty. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  student  of  the 
Jewish  people  knows  that  throughout  history 
there  have  been  two  leading  types  of  Jews; 
on  the  one  hand,  the  physical  Jew,  on  the 


JEWISH  CHARACTERISTICS         53 

other,  the  spiritual  Jew.     The  Jew  belonging 
to  the  first  class  has  Identified  Jewry  with 
racialism.     To  him,   Jewish   aflihatlon  Is  a 
matter  solely  of  descent,  with  Its  accidents 
and    prerogatives.     Not    Infrequently    this 
Idea  has  gone  with  a  certain  pride  of  race, 
and  even  degenerated,   as  such  things  will, 
into   chauvinism.     The  Jew   of  the   second 
type,  on  the  other  hand,  has  Identified  Juda- 
ism with  spiritual  distinction  and  purpose. 
He  also  has  been  proud  of  his  descent,  of  the 
Jewish  past;  but  all  this  has  spelt  for  him 
spiritual  obHgatlon  and  responsibility,  with- 
out   which    physical    appurtenances    would 
mean  nothing.     There  has  never  been  a  time 
when  these  two  classes  have  not  been  repre- 
sented In  Israel,   and  their  concurrence  ex- 
plains many  a  Jewish  conflict  and  tragedy. 
But  it  is  from  the  second  class  I  have  de- 
scribed that  have  sprung  all  the  Idealists  of 
Israel,  with  their  passions  and  exaltations, 
with  their  spiritual  visions   and  valor;  out 


54  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

of  It  has  come  the  Immortal  and  unequaled 
Idealism  of  the  Jewish  people. 

Needless  to  say,  the  supreme  representa- 
tives of  this  latter  class  were  the  men  known 
as  the  Prophets  of  Israel.  They  were  the 
chief  idealists  of  the  people,  which  means 
that  they  interpreted  in  terms  of  spiritual 
Idealism  both  the  past  and  the  purpose  of 
Israel.  It  Is  they  that  gave  to  the  people 
the  true  meaning  of  the  choice  of  Israel, 
and  namely,  in  ideal  terms,  in  terms  of  con- 
secration and  of  righteousness,  and  they  con- 
strued the  religious  tasks  of  the  people  in 
terms  of  spiritual  elevation  and  ethical  prac- 
tice. To  them  everything  else  was  as  noth- 
ing in  the  balance  against  the  moral  and 
spiritual  ends :  the  sacrifices,  the  temple,  the 
state,  the  priests,  kings,  and  politicians  were 
nothing  as  against  the  people's  consecration 
to  spiritual  and  ethical  ends.  Such,  on  the 
whole,  was  the  attitude  and  activity  of  the 
Prophets.     And  that  is  why,  after  the  fash- 


JEWISH  CHARACTERISTICS         55 

Ion  of  Idealists,  the  Prophets  criticized  their 
people  so  often  and  so  severely.  But  did 
they  hate  their  people?  Never!  They 
loved  it  even  unto  death.  They  beheved  in 
It.  That  is  why  they  sought  to  correct  it. 
And  they  comforted  it,  and  wonderful  pic- 
tures they  drew  of  its  future  restoration  and 
its  fixed  part  in  the  future  glories  of  man- 
kind. Such  were  the  Prophets.  They  were 
the  pattern  Jews  of  the  spiritual  type. 

This  type  of  Jew  Jesus,  in  his  own  way  and 
In  his  own  age,  exempHfied.      It  is  folly  to 
fasten  on  minor  points  of  Jesus'  teaching  as 
the  distinctive  parts  of  his  message.     What- 
ever  he    taught   about   religion    and   ethics, 
about  godliness  and  the  virtues,  about  broth- 
erliness  and  unlversalism,  may  be  found  in 
the  Jewish  teachings  of  his  predecessors  and 
contemporaries  and  independent  successors. 
It  is  not  what  he  taught  about  humility  or 
compassion  or  chastity  that  gave  him  dls- 
tinction,  or  made  him  important.     Any  Jew- 


56  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

ish  teacher  worthy  his  name  no  doubt  taught 
the  same.  The  importance  of  Jesus  lay  in 
that  he  gave  another  expression  and  was  an- 
other incarnation  of  that  great  principle 
which  the  Jewish  soul  at  its  best  has  contin- 
ually impressed  upon  the  world  —  the  pro- 
phetic principle,  the  principles  of  ideahsm 
and  spirituality,  of  godhness  and  goodness, 
as  against  materialism  and  earthiness.  In 
Jesus  we  find  a  fresh  exemplification  of  Jew- 
ish characteristics,  of  those  traits  which  the 
Prophets  eternalized,  and  which  have  made 
for  the  immortality  of  the  Jew.  Thus,  he 
exemplified  the  eternal  struggle  in  Israel  be- 
tween what  Charles  Peguy,  with  remarkable 
insight,  has  called  the  mysticism  and  the  poli- 
tics of  Israel.  "  There  is  a  Jewish  poHtics," 
says  Peguy,  "  but  there  is  also  a  Jewish  mys- 
ticism. And  the  whole  mysticism  of  Israel 
is  that  Israel  pursues  in  the  world  his  tena- 
cious and  tragic  mission.  Hence,  the  an- 
guish, the  most  doleful  of  antagonisms  that 


JEWISH  CHARACTERISTICS         57 

can  exist  between  politics  and  mysticism.  A 
people  of  merchants,  and  also  a  people  of 
prophets.  The  ones  know  for  the  others 
what  calamity  means." 

In  this  light  we  can  understand  the  atti- 
tude of  Jesus  to  the  Jews.  He  criticized  his 
people.  He  chastised  It.  He  sought  to  cor- 
rect It.  But  he  did  not  hate  It.  And  he 
would  not  have  been  he,  If  he  had  hated  It. 
"  It  means  to  leave  humanity,"  says  Pascal, 
"  for  a  man  to  leave  his  own  milieu:  the 
grandeur  of  the  human  soul  consists  In  know- 
ing how  to  cling  to  the  latter;  the  more  it 
would  seem  to  be  the  part  of  greatness  to 
leave  one's  milieu,  the  more  it  is  true  great- 
ness not  to  leave  it."  Jesus  did  not  hate  his 
people.  He  did  not  leave  It.  He  loved  It. 
Hence  he  pitied  It,  and  comforted  it,  and 
sought  to  help  it,  as  did  the  Prophets  before 
him,  and  as  every  Jew  belonging  to  the  same 
type  has  tried  to  do  ever  since,  according 
to  his  powers.     All  this  served  not  to  eclipse 


58  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

or  efface  the  Jewish  characteristics  of  Jesus 
but  rather  to  accentuate  them. 

What,  then,  are  these  characteristics? 
They  are  as  follows : 

Jesus  was  not  only  born  a  Jew,  but  con- 
scious of  his  Jewish  descent. 

Jesus  realized  the  spiritual  distinction  of 
the  Jewish  people,  and  regarded  himself  as 
sent  to  teach  and  help  his  people. 

Jesus,  like  other  teachers,  severely  criti- 
cized his  people  for  their  spiritual  short- 
comings, seeking  to  correct  them,  but  at  the 
same  time  he  loved  and  pitied  them.  His 
whole  ministry  was  saturated  with  love  for 
his  people,  and  loyalty  to  it. 

Jesus,  like  all  other  of  the  noblest  type 
of  Jewish  teachers,  taught  the  essential  les- 
sons of  spiritual  religion  —  love,  justice, 
goodness,  purity,  holiness  —  subordinating 
the  material  and  the  poHtical  to  the  spiritual 
and  the  eternal. 


JEWISH  CHARACTERISTICS         59 

Is  not  this  the  Inward  meaning  of  the  story 
of  Jesus'  temptation  In  the  wilderness?  * 

"  Then  was  Jesus  led  up  of  the  Spirit  into  the 
wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil.  And  when 
he  had  fasted  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  he  after- 
ward hungered.  And  the  tempter  came  and  said 
unto  him,  If  thou  art  the  Son  of  God,  command 
that  these  stones  become  bread.  But  he  answered 
and  said,  It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread 
alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the 
mouth  of  God.  Then  the  devil  taketh  him  into 
the  holy  city;  and  he  set  him  on  the  pinnacle  of 
the  temple,  and  saith  unto  him.  If  thou  art  the  Son 
of  God,  cast  thyself  down:  for  it  is  written, 

He  shall  give  his  angels  charge  concerning  thee: 
And  on  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up, 
Lest  haply  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone. 

Jesus  said  unto  him.  Again  it  is  written.  Thou 
shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God.  Again,  the 
devil  taketh  him  into  an  exceeding  high  mountain, 
and  sheweth  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world, 
and  the  glory  of  them;  and  he  said  unto  him.  All 
these  things  will  I  give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall  down 
and  worship  me.  Then  saith  Jesus  unto  him.  Get 
thee  hence,  Satan:  for  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt 
worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou 


6o         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

serve.  Then  the  devil  leaveth  him ;  and  behold, 
angels  came  and  ministered  unto  him."  {Mat. 
4:1-10.) 

The  facts  of  faith  and  of  life  —  all  of  them, 
Jesus  reads  in  the  manner  of  the  spiritual 
teachers  of  Israel.  No  wonder  Professor 
Santayana  has  called  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
"  pure  Hebraism  reduced  to  its  spiritual 
essence." 

In  one  other  respect  Jesus  showed  himself 
the  true  Jew.  He  was  ready  to  die  for  his 
ideal,  for  his  teaching,  for  his  belief.  His 
death  has  since  meant  a  great  deal  of  suffer- 
ing to  the  Jew.  The  Jew  has  been  blamed 
foT  it.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  Jesus  never 
was  more  the  Jew  than  when  he  was  willing 
quietly  to  die  for  his  teaching  and  belief. 

He  was  not  the  only  Jew  so  to  do.  The 
story  of  martyrdom  in  Israel  began  several 
centuries  before  he  came  into  the  world. 
Suffering  for  religion's  sake  had  become  the 
badge  and  the  business  of  the  Jew.     About 


JEWISH  CHARACTERISTICS         6i 

the  time  Jesus  lived,  a  Jewish  author  pro- 
duced as  noble  a  panegyric  of  martyrdom  as 
was  ever  written,  the  so-called  "  Fourth 
Book  of  the  Maccabees."  In  Jesus'  own 
day  many  a  Jew  died  for  trying  to  liberate 
their  people,  and  particularly  Galilean  Jews, 
who  were  among  the  most  loyal  and  zealbus, 
and  during  the  subsequent  period  Jews  by 
the  thousands  took  the  same  heroic  course. 
It  is  a  fate  Jewish  martyrs  have  shared 
throughout  the  ages,  and  their  last  words, 
when  bidden  to  deny  their  faith  or  their 
teaching,  invariably  were:  "Hear,  O 
Israel,  the  Lord  our  God,  the  Lord  is  One !  " 
—  the  very  words  which,  according  to  Jesus, 
were  the  essence  of  true  Religion. 

That  Jesus  died  as  he  did  was  destined  to 
bring  endless  agony  to  the  Jew;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  something  to  make  the  Jew 
proud  that  Jesus  was  wiUing  and  ready  so 
to  die.  It  proved  him  the  true  Jew,  show- 
ing forth  in  his  dying  moment  that  fidehty 


62  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

to  faith  which  has  formed  the  chief  glory 
of  the  Jewish  character. 

The  words  addressed  by  the  author  of 
the  Fourth  Book  of  the  Maccabees  to  the 
martyr-mother  of  the  seven  sons  slain  by 
the  cruel  tyrant  of  the  Greeks,  are  true  of 
Israel: 

"  As  the  Ark  of  Noah,  with  the  whole  living 
world  for  her  burden  in  the  world-whelming 
Deluge,  did  withstand  the  mighty  surges,  so  thou, 
the  keeper  of  the  Law,  beaten  upon  every  side  by 
the  surging  waves  of  the  passions,  and  strained  as 
with  strong  blasts  by  the  tortures  of  thy  sons,  didst 
nobly  weather  the  storms  that  assailed  thee  for 
religion's  sake." 


THE  JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  THE 
TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Latter-day  lives  of  Jesus  have  brought 
out  one  point  above  all  others  —  the  univer- 
sal readiness  to  treat  Jesus  as  a  spiritual  and 
ethical  teacher,  if  nothing  else.  Even  those 
who  decline  to  accept  the  figure  of  Jesus  as 
drawn  by  traditional  Christianity,  are  ready 
to  pay  him  tribute  as  a  unique  teacher.  In- 
deed, there  are  such  as  affirm  that  the  true 
greatness  of  Jesus  can  be  appreciated  only 
when  dissociated  from  the  dogmas  and  pe- 
culiar concepts  gathered  by  the  churches.  In 
Mr.  George  Moore's  novel,  "  The  Brook 
Kerith,"  there  is  the  subtle  suggestion  that 
as  a  teacher  Jesus  was  impressive  and  fas- 
cinating, but  it  required  Paul's  peculiar  illu- 
sions about  Jesus  to  make  him  the  hero  he 
63 


64         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

became;  otherwise  he  might  have  ended  his 
days  in  the  obscure  seclusion  of  an  Essene 
monastery.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  modern 
disposition  is  certainly  to  treat  Jesus  less  as 
a  metaphysical  personage  than  as  a  religious 
and  ethical  teacher.  Regarding  him  thus, 
we  cannot  fail  to  reahze  how  much  of  the 
Jewish  element  pervaded  the  teaching  of 
Jesus,  particularly  that  part  of  it  which  Is 
permanent  and  not  merely  a  reflex  of  the 
circumstances  of  his  time. 

In  a  study  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  the 
unbiased  student  encounters  one  inevitable 
difficulty.  It  is  not  easy  to  determine  what 
parts  of  the  Gospels  represent  the  authentic 
utterances  of  Jesus,  as  distinguished  from 
those  attributed  to  him  by  his  disciples  and 
by  the  founders  of  the  early  Christian  com- 
munities. All  the  Gospels  were  written 
years  after  the  death  of  Jesus  —  at  least 
from  thirty  to  sixty  years  after  that  event, 
and  It  Is  very  doubtful  whether  we  have  them 


JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHINGS     65 

in  the  original  form.  There  are  differences 
among  them,  not  only  in  details  but  in  the 
general  treatment  of  the  subject.  The 
Fourth  Gospel,  for  instance,  though  com- 
monly accepted  as  the  work  of  Jesus'  favor- 
ite disciple,  John,  gives  by  no  means  the 
most  attractive  picture  of  its  hero,  mingling^ 
as  it  does,  mystical  teaching  of  profound 
beauty  with  a  story  of  constant  querulous- 
ness.  If  John  did  write  it,  he  wrote  it  as 
an  old  man,  influenced  by  the  memory  of 
many  a  controversy  and  strife  which  occurred 
in  the  estabhshment  of  the  early  Christian 
communities  rather  than  in  the  life  of  Jesus. 
Thus,  in  all  the  Gospels  it  is  by  no  means 
easy  to  fix  the  actual  utterances  of  Jesus. 
This  much,  however,  the  sympathetic  and  un- 
prejudiced student  can  do.  He  can  sense 
those  teachings  and  those  sayings  that  most 
surely  represent  the  spirit  of  Jesus. 

I  say,  he  can  sense  them.     It  might  be  ob- 
jected that  this  means  the  introduction  of  too 


66         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

much  intuition  into  historic  study  —  too 
much  subjective  treatment.  Yet,  is  not  this 
what  we  have  to  do,  and  are  wont  to  do,  in 
the  study  of  any  personality?  There  are 
certain  central,  fundamental  facts  on  which 
every  personality  is  built.  A  sincere  and 
consistent  personality  is  an  expression  of  such 
central  facts.  They  form  the  spirit  of  the 
personality.  They  form  its  core,  its  char- 
acter, and  we  can  usually  guess  particulars 
from  those  central  truths,  from  that  spirit. 
In  the  case  of  Jesus  that  was  supremely  true. 
No  one  was  ruled  more  completely  by  the 
central  truth  of  his  life  than  he,  and  it  does 
not  require  overmuch  wisdom  to  determine 
what  is  likely  to  have  expressed  his  spirit, 
to  have  harmonized  with  the  ethical  and 
spiritual  purpose  of  his  life  —  in  a  word, 
what  in  all  likelihood  formed  an  authentic 
part  of  his  teaching. 

In  order   to  understand  the   teaching  of 
Jesus,  we  must  abandon,  first  of  all,  the  com- 


JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHINGS     67 

mon  notion  that  the  purpose  of  Jesus  was  to 
overthrow  the  Jewish  religion,  or  the  old 
law,  and  to  found  a  new  one.  This  notion 
he  himself  sought  to  uproot  when  first  it 
cropped  up  among  his  contemporaries.  The 
words  in  which  he  tried  to  do  it  now  form 
part  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  prob- 
ably were  spoken  early  in  his  ministry. 
"  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the 
Law,  or  the  Prophets;  I  am  not  come  to  de- 
stroy, but  to  fulfill.  For  verily  I  say  unto 
you.  Till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or 
one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  from  the  Law, 
till  all  be  fulfilled." 

What  do  these  words  mean?  If  anything, 
it  is  this:  first,  that  Jesus  does  not  mean  to 
say  or  to  do  anything  that  might  destroy 
or  damage  the  inherited  law  and  doctrine  of 
his  people;  then,  that  the  welfare  of  the 
world  depends  upon  the  observance  and  the 
fulfillment  of  those  teachings;  and,  finally, 
that  it  is  his  purpose  and  conscious  mission 


68         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

to  advance  the  fulfillment  of  the  old  law 
and  the  old  Prophets. 

But  what  does  he  mean  by  fulfillment? 
That  we  must  seek  to  understand  in  order 
to  grasp  the  relation  of  Jesus  to  those  proph- 
ecies and  precepts.  By  fulfillment  he  does 
not  mean  merely  a  mechanical  fulfillment; 
he  means  a  spiritual  fulfillment;  he  means 
a  grasp  of  the  full  content  and  aim  of  the 
Law,  an  absorption  and  application  of  its 
spirit,  an  inward  apprehension  of  its  content, 
and  the  unfoldment  of  its  purpose  in  actual 
life. 

That  this  is  what  fulfillment  of  the  Law 
meant  to  Jesus,  we  are  moved  to  believe  by 
the  general  Jewish  attitude.  This  the  best 
Jewish  teachers  sought  to  teach  at  the  time 
of  Jesus,  as  well  as  before  and  after  it. 

It  is  commonly  said  that  the  life  of  the 
Jewish  people  in  the  age  of  Jesus  was  gov- 
erned by  the  Law.  Of  course,  it  was;  but 
the  Law  that  did  so  govern  it,  was  not  a 


JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHINGS     69 

dead  law.  It  was  a  living  law,  though  come 
down  from  the  past,  and  all  the  efforts  of  the 
teachers  were  directed  toward  discovering 
the  ethical  contents  and  the  spiritual  Impli- 
cates of  the  Law.  That  formed  the  chief 
task  of  the  teachers,  and  gave  birth  to  the 
enormous  literature  of  the  age.  For  the 
rabbis,  as  for  Jesus,  the  letter  did  not  suffice. 
What  lay  behind  and  within  the  letter  their 
eyes  sought  continually,  and  every  teacher 
tried  to  find  In  it  more  than  his  predecessors 
and  colleagues  had  found.  There  was  ri- 
valry among  them  in  the  discovery  of  the 
ethical  and  spiritual  implications  of  tradition 
—  so  much  so  that  they  came  to  regard  wis- 
dom as  the  result  of  the  rivalry  of  Scribes 
(or  teachers).  Mechanical  conformity  was 
not  enough.  The  Law  demanded  spiritual 
discernment  and  realization. 

No  doubt,  this  is  what  Jesus  meant  when 
he  spoke  about  having  come  to  fulfill  the 
Law  and  the  Prophets,  and  when  he  admon- 


70  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

ished  his  hearers  not  only  to  fulfill  every 
tittle  and  iota  of  the  Law,  but  to  do  more; 
to  go  farther  and  deeper  than  all  formal 
teaching  and  academic  interpretation.  ^'  Ex- 
cept your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the 
Scribes  and  the  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no 
case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

Such  teaching  was  Jewish.  It  was 
founded  on  Jewish  precepts  and  precedents. 
Its  effort  to  penetrate  and  amplify  the  Law 
was  in  harmony  with  the  practice  and  meth- 
ods of  Jewish  teachers.  Its  motive  as  well 
as  its  aims  were  Jewish.  Even  where  Jesus 
offered  something  in  a  new  form  or  in  a  new 
way,  it  accorded  with  his  general  aim  to 
disclose  the  ethical  and  spiritual  contents  of 
the  old  Law. 

This  idea  underlies  two  of  the  most  preg- 
nant parables  of  Jesus. 

First,  we  have  it  in  the  parable  of  the  new 
wine  and  the  old  bottles.  Questioned  as  to 
why  his  disciples  violated  some  old  forms. 


JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHINGS      71 

Jesus  replies  that  the  new  wine  of  Religion 
requires  new  bottles.     This  parable  is  often 
cited  as  indicative  of  Jesus'  hostility  to  the 
old   forms  of  Judaism.     It  is   accepted  as 
authentic.     But    there    is    another    parable 
which  is  not  quoted  so  frequently,   and  yet 
supplements  it,  nor  is  there  any  reason  for 
regarding   it   as   less    authentic.     After    ex- 
plaining his  parables  to  the  disciples,   it  is 
related  that  he  asked,  "  Have  ye  understood 
all  these  things?  "     "  Yes,"  they  answered. 
Then  he  said  unto  them: 

"Therefore  every  scribe  which  Is  in- 
structed unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  hke 
unto  a  man  that  is  a  householder,  which 
bringeth  forth  out  of  his  treasures  things 
new  and  old."      {Mat.  13:51-52.) 

In  other  words,  the  wise  teacher  of 
spiritual  and  ethical  truth,  hke  the  good 
householder,  will  use  and  cherish  both  new 
things  and  old,  according  to  their  worth  to 
the  promotion  of  his  aim. 


72  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

There  Is  no  more  reason  for  denying  the 
authenticity  of  this  parable  than  of  the  one 
about  the  new  wine  and  the  old  bottles.  On 
the  contrary,  it  represents  the  very  spirit 
of  the  method  of  teaching  used  by  Jesus. 
It  is  the  more  comprehensive,  though  not  the 
more  familiar,  of  the  two  parables.  Out  of 
his  spiritual  treasures  Jesus  brought  forth 
things  old  and  new,  as  they  served  the  great 
purpose  of  his  ministry.  In  this  respect,  he 
did  what  every  great  Jewish  teacher  of  his 
time  sought  to  do. 

What  formed  the  essential  teaching  of 
Jesus?  We  may  sum  it  up  briefly.  He  be- 
gan with  the  idea  of  the  Divine  judgment 
that  was  at  hand.  That  led  on  to  the  idea 
of  repentance,  as  the  one  great  need  of  his 
people.  From  that  he  was  led  to  an  affirma- 
tion of  the  essential  character  of  religion  — 
the  spiritual  fulfillment  of  the  law,  rather 
than  mere  outward  conformity.     And  from 


JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHINGS     73 

that  he  pushed  on,  quite  naturally,  to  an 
exposition  of  how  the  spiritual  side  of  re- 
ligion can  be  expressed  in  conduct  —  in  the 
particulars  of  everyday  conduct.  These  lat- 
ter points  are  developed  in  his  various  par- 
ables and  sentences  on  love  and  forbearance 
and  faith  and  humility,  on  service  and  godli- 
ness. But  the  quintessence  of  his  teaching 
is  summed  up  pithily  in  the  opening  chapter 
of  Mark. 

"  After  that  John  was  put  in  prison,  Jesus 
came  into  Galilee,  preaching  the  gospel  of 
the  kingdom  of  God,  and  saying,  The  time 
is  fulfilled,  and  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
at  hand:  repent  ye,  and  believe  the  gos- 
pel." 

Now,  it  means  no  denial  of  the  power,  nor 
of  the  originahty,  of  Jesus  to  recognize  in 
this  teaching  a  new  expression  of  what  the 
religious  leaders  of  Israel,  and  particularly 
the  Prophets,  had  sought  to  teach.  The 
Prophets  time  and  again  spoke  of  the  com- 


74  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

ing  of  the  Divine  judgment  —  the  Doom. 
"  Hear,  ye  peoples,"  cried  Micah, 

"  Hear,  ye  peoples,  all  of  you ; 
Hearken,  O  earth,  and  all  that  therein  is; 
And  let  the  Lord  God  be  witness  against  you, 
The  Lord  from  His  holy  temple. 
For,  behold,  the  Lord  cometh  forth  out  of  His 

place. 
And  will  come  down,  and  tread  upon  the  high 

places  of  the  earth. 
And  the  mountains  shall  be  molten  under  Him. 
And  the  valleys  shall  be  cleft, 
As  wax  before  the  fire. 

As  waters  that  are  poured  down  a  steep  place. 
For  the  transgression  of  Jacob  is  all  this, 
And  for  the  sins  of  the  house  of  Israel." 

Again  and  again  the  Prophets  pleaded  for 
repentance,  as  a  means  of  moral  improve- 
ment and  of  recovery  of  relationshp  with 
God;  and  namely,  for  spiritual,  rather  than 
outward,  repentance.  "  Yet  even  now,"  we 
read  in  Joel, 

"  Yet  even  now,  saith  the  Lord, 
Turn  ye  unto  Me  with  all  your  heart, 


JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHINGS      75 

And   with   fasting,    and   with   weeping   and   with 

lamentation ; 
And  rend  your  heart,  and  not  your  garments, 
And  turn  unto  the  Lord  your  God; 
For  He  is  gracious  and  compassionate, 
Long-suffering,  and  abundant  in  mercy, 
And  repenteth  Him  of  the  evil." 

Without  ceasing  the  Prophets  pointed  out 
the  uselessness  of  a  mere  formal  religion 
and  the  paramountcy  of  the  spiritual  and 
ethical  element  In  all  religious  profession  and 
practice.  Who  does  not  recall  Isaiah's 
burning  words  concerning  it? 

"  Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
Ye  rulers  of  Sodom ; 
Give  ear  unto  the  law  of  our  God, 
Ye  people  of  Gomorrah. 
To  what  purpose  is  the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices 

unto  Me? 
Saith  the  Lord; 

I  am  full  of  the  burnt-offerings  of  rams, 
And  the  fat  of  fed  beasts; 
And  I  delight  not  in  the  blood 
Of  bullocks,  or  of  lambs,  or  of  he-goats. 


76         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

When  ye  come  to  appear  before  Me, 

Who  hath  required  this  at  your  hand, 

To  trample  my  courts? 

Bring  no  more  vain  oblations ; 

It  is  an  offering  of  abomination  unto  Me; 

New  moon  and  sabbath,  the  holding  of  convoca- 
tions — 

I  cannot  endure  iniquity  along  with  the  solemn 
assembly. 

Your  new  moons  and  your  appointed  seasons 

My  soul  hateth; 

They  are  a  burden  unto  Me; 

I  am  weary  to  bear  them. 

And  when  ye  spread  forth  your  hands, 

I  will  hide  Mine  eyes  from  you; 

Yea,  when  ye  make  many  prayers, 

I  will  not  hear; 

Your  hands  are  full  of  blood. 

Wash  you,  make  you  clean, 

Put  away   the  evil  of   your  doings 

From  before  Mine  eyes. 

Cease  to  do  evil ; 

Learn  to  do  well: 

Seek  justice,  relieve  the  oppressed. 

Judge  the  fatherless,  plead  for  the  widow." 

Conditions  may  have  changed  from  age  to 


JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHINGS     77 

age,  but  the  idea  and  the  purpose  of  the 
Prophet  remained  ever  the  same. 

"  By  a  prophet  the  Lord  brought  Israel  up  out  of 
Egypt, 
And  by  a  prophet  was  he  kept." 

That  is  the  common  link  between  Elijah  and 
Amos  and  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel, 
and  the  rest:  thy  all  have  the  same  ideal. 
And  the  same  purpose,  under  new  conditions, 
animated  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  and  found 
in  them  a  new  expression. 

Yet,  there  were  certain  things  which 
formed  the  unique  power  and  fascination  of 
Jesus'  teaching,  and  the  secret  of  his  popu- 
larity. 

First,  Jesus  put  the  personal  element  into 
the  heart  of  his  teaching.  He  did  not  teach 
in  mere  academic  fashion,  as  did  others.  He 
taught  in  a  personal  way,  by  means  of  per- 
sonal appeal  and  through  personal  experi- 
ence. He  identified  himself  with  his  teach- 
ing.    He  and  his  doctrine  were  one.     He 


78  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

was  part  of  the  truth  he  felt  and  sought  to 
spread.  It  was  of  the  very  essence  of  his 
outlook.  Of  course,  other  teachers  also 
made  direct  appeals  and  used  personal  experi- 
ence. But  in  their  case  it  was  accidental, 
a  mere  illustration  of  their  teaching.  In  the 
case  of  Jesus  it  was  part  of  his  very  being. 

The  truth  with  which  he  was  concerned 
formed  his  sole  passion,  to  which  he  sacri- 
ficed, paradoxically,  even  his  closest  relations. 
"  Kinship,"  says  Philo,  the  Jewish  philoso- 
pher of  the  first  century,  "  is  in  truth  not 
reckoned  merely  by  blood;  it  is  rather  doing 
the  same  actions  and  seeking  the  same  ends." 
We  hear  little  about  Jesus'  association  with 
his  own  family.  Dearest  to  him  were  those 
that  felt  and  toiled  with  him,  and  understood 
him. 

"And  there  came  his  mother  and  his  brethren; 
and,  standing  without,  they  sent  unto  him,  calling 
him.  And  a  multitude  was  sitting  about  him ;  and 
they   say    unto   him.    Behold   thy  mother   and   thy 


JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHINGS      79 

brethren  without  seek  for  thee!  And  he  answered 
them,  and  saith,  Who  is  my  mother  and  my  breth- 
ren? And  looking  round  on  them  which  sat  round 
about  him,  he  saith,  Behold,  my  mother  and  my 
brethren !  For  whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  God, 
the  same  is  my  brother,  and  sister,  and  mother." 
{Mark  3:31-35.) 

Similarly,  those  who  would  become  his 
friends,  had  to  sacrifice  everything  to  the 
ideal  he  taught. 

"  And  a  certain  ruler  asked  him,  saying,  Good 
Master,  what  shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life? 
And  Jesus  said  unto  him.  Why  callest  thou  me 
good?  None  is  good  save  one,  and  that  is  God. 
Thou  knowest  the  commandments;  Do  not  commit 
adultery ;  do  not  kill ;  do  not  steal ;  do  not  bear  false 
witness;  honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother.  And 
he  said,  all  these  have  I  kept  from  my  youth  up. 
Now,  when  Jesus  heard  these  things,  he  said  unto 
him:  Yet,  lackest  thou  one  thing.  Sell  all  that 
thou  hast  and  distribute  it  unto  the  poor,  and  thou 
shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven ;  and  come  follow  me. 
And  when  he  heard  this,  he  was  very  sorrowful, 
for  he  was  very  rich.  And  when  Jesus  saw  that 
he  was  very  sorrowful,  he  said,  How  hardly  shall 
they   that   have   riches   enter   into   the   kingdom   of 


So         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

God,  for  it  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the 
needle's  eye  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.  And  they  that  heard  it  said, 
Who,  then,  can  be  saved  ?  And  he  said,  The  things 
which  are  impossible  with  men  are  possible  with 
God.  And  Peter  said  later,  We  have  left  all  and 
followed  thee.  And  he  said  unto  them.  Verily,  I 
say  unto  you,  there  is  no  man  that  hath  left  house 
or  parents  or  brethren  or  wife  or  children  for  the 
Kingdom  of  God's  sake,  who  shall  not  receive  mani- 
fold more  in  this  present  time  and  in  the  world 
to  come  life  everlasting."     (Luke  i6:  18-30.) 

Jesus  beheld  everything  under  the  aspect  of 
the  personal,  as  part  of  himself,  and  as  re- 
lated to  himself:  God,  Nature,  and  his  fel- 
lowmen.  It  was  Inevitable,  therefore,  that 
all  his  teaching  should  be  permeated  with 
his  personality.  His  chief  concern  was  not 
discussion  of  academic  questions,  nor  partici- 
pation In  learned  disputes,  but  to  help  men 
in  the  actualities  of  hfe  by  opening  up  to 
their  vision  the  world  of  spiritual  truth. 

Then,  Jesus  appealed  with  special  force  to 
the  poor,  the  lonely,  the  forlorn,  and  partlcu- 


JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHINGS     8i 

larly  to  those  who  had  gone  astray.  Here, 
again,  it  was  not  so  much  a  matter  of  nov- 
elty: the  teaching  was  not  new;  the  Prophets 
were  friends  of  the  poor,  defenders  of  the 
oppressed,  and  so  were  the  rabbis;  but  the 
personal  relation  made  a  difference.  Jesus 
not  only  championed  the  poor,  he  lived  their 
life;  he  not  only  pitied  sinners,  but  mingled 
with  them;  he  not  only  praised  penitents, 
as  did  every  conventional  rabbi,  but  he 
showed  his  love  for  them  in  personal  contact. 

"  And  he  went  forth  again  by  the  sea  side ;  and 
all  the  multitude  resorted  unto  him,  and  he  taught 
them.  And  as  he  passed  by,  he  saw  Levi  the  son 
of  Alphaeus  sitting  at  the  place  of  toll,  and  he  saith 
unto  him,  Follow  me!  And  he  arose  and  followed 
him.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  he  was  sitting  at 
meat  in  his  house,  and  many  publicans  and  sinners 
sat  down  with  Jesus  and  his  disciples:  for  there 
were  many,  and  they  followed  him.  And  the 
scribes  of  the  Pharisees,  when  they  saw  that  he  was 
eating  with  the  sinners  and  publicans,  said  unto 
his  disciples.  He  eateth  and  drinketh  with  publi- 
cans and  sinners!     And  when  Jesus  heard   it,   he 


82  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

salth  unto  them,  They  that  are  whole  have  no  need 
of  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick:  I  came  not 
to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners."  {Mark  2:  13- 
17.) 

Jesus  did  not  preach  on  the  problems  of 
poverty  and  of  penitence;  he  dealt  tenderly, 
lovingly,  with  the  penitent  and  the  poor. 

As  we  study  the  ethical  and  religious  teach- 
ing of  Jesus,  we  cannot  help  recognizing  the 
Jewish  element  in  it,  its  Jewish  authenticity, 
its  relationship  to  the  best  prophetic  tradi- 
tions and  ideals.  The  merit  of  Jesus  lay  in 
giving  to  those  traditions  and  ideals  a  new 
expression,  a  new  emphasis,  and  in  endowing 
them  with  the  perennial  appeal  of  a  fascinat- 
ing personality.  That  he  himself  regarded 
his  teaching  as  a  pure  expression  of  the 
Jewish  religious  ideal —  as  a  fulfillment  of 
the  Law  and  the  Prophets  —  one  can  hardly 
doubt.  Indeed,  we  have  it  from  his  own 
lips.  When  asked  by  a  scribe  what  were  the 
essentials  of  Religion,  he  answered,  it  is  said. 


JEWISH  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHINGS      83 

with  citations  from  the  Jewish  Law.  The 
scribe  assented  and  evoked  from  Jesus  the 
remark:  "  Thou  art  not  far  from  the  king- 
dom of  God!" 

*'  And  one  of  the  scribes  came,  and  heard  them 
questioning  together,  and  knowing  that  he  had  an- 
swered them  well,  asked  him,  What  commandment 
is  the  first  of  all?  Jesus  answered,  The  first  is, 
Hear,  O  Israel;  the  Lord  our  God,  the  Lord  is  one: 
and  thou  shalt  love  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and 
with  all  thy  strength.  The  second  Is  this.  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.  There  is  none 
other  commandment  greater  than  these.  And  the 
scribe  said  unto  him.  Of  a  truth.  Master,  thou  hast 
well  said  that  He  is  one;  and  there  is  none  other 
but  He;  and  to  love  Him  with  all  the  heart,  and 
with  all  the  understanding,  and  with  all  the  strength, 
and  to  love  his  neighbor  as  himself  is  much  more 
than  all  whole  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices.  And 
when  Jesus  saw  that  he  answered  discreetly,  he  said 
unto  him,  Thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of 
God."      {Mark  12:28-34.) 


JESUS  AND  HIS  CONTEMPORARIES 

A  man's  greatest  treasures  are  his  ideals. 
They  are  the  thoughts,  the  aims,  the  dream 
by  which  his  life  is  fashioned  and  directed. 
They  are  his  inward  treasure,  the  light  by 
which  he  lives.  A  man's  life  is  according  to 
his  ideals,  and  according  to  their  hold  upon 
him.  When  we  speak  of  an  idealist,  we 
mean  a  man  to  whom  his  ideals  are  the  most 
precious  thing  in  life,  and  on  whom  they 
have  a  hold  above  everything  else  —  above 
material  possession  and  advancement,  even 
life  itself. 

"  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  treasure 
hidden  in  the  field;  which  a  man  found  and  hid; 
and  in  his  joy  he  goeth  and  selleth  all  that  he  hath, 
and  buyeth  that  field. 

"  Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man 
that  is  a  merchant  seeking  goodly  pearls:  and  hav- 
84 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  85 

ing  found  one  pearl  of  great  price,  he  went  and 
sold  all  that  he  had,  and  bought  it."  {Mat.  13: 
44-45-) 

Like  other  treasures,  then,  ideals  cannot 
be  gotten  nor  held  without  a  certain  cost. 
The  idealist  must  be  ready  to  pay  the  price 
of  his  ideals,  and  usually  it  means  facing 
the  opposition  and  misunderstanding  of  his 
fellowmen.  There  is  hardly  an  idealist  who 
has  not  been  forced  to  endure  the  antago- 
nism of  the  world,  and  particularly  the  un- 
happiness  of  being  misunderstood  by  it. 
Had  the  world  understood  Its  idealists,  and 
had  it  sought  to  put  into  effect  their  teach- 
ings and  visions,  it  would  be  different  than 
it  is.  But  the  world  has  hardly  ever  really 
grasped  what  its  ideal  teachers  meant  to 
convey  and  to  accomplish.  This  has  formed 
the  tragedy  of  ideahsts.  Sooner  or  later  it 
is  the  fate  of  every  ideaHst  to  realize  the  dis- 
tance between  himself  and  the  world,  the 
difficulty  of  making  himself  understood,  and 


86  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

the  remote  chance  of  his  words  and  visions 
finding  fulfillment. 

To  this  rule  Jesus,  the  arch-idealist,  was 
no  exception.  If  ever  man  spurned  the  ma- 
terial and  devoted  himself  to  the  promotion 
of  the  spiritual,  it  was  he,  and  it  would  have 
been  truly  miraculous  had  his  contemporaries 
received  his  doctrine  with  unanimous  com- 
prehension and  approval. 

We  cannot  read  the  life  of  Jesus,  how- 
ever, without  concluding  that  very  early  in 
his  ministry  he  realized  the  difliculty  of  his 
task.  It  did  not  take  him  long  to  learn  that 
it  was  one  thing  to  have  discovered  for  one- 
self the  spiritual  character  of  Religion,  and 
quite  another  thing  to  bring  the  truth  home 
to  others,  and  particularly  to  the  mass  of  the 
people.  Did  all  those  that  heard  him  really 
grasp  the  purpose  and  the  inwardness  of  his 
words?  His  outward  acts,  his  helpful  per- 
formances, the  multitude  understood;  they 
made  him  popular;  but  did  they  understand 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  87 

his  doctrine,  which  to  him  was  the  chief  thing, 
the  real  bread  of  life?  The  loaves  they 
appreciated;  but  how  about  the  spiritual 
food?  Worst  of  all,  Jesus  was  not  long 
In  recognizing  that  even  those  closest  to  him, 
his  chosen  disciples,  could  not  be  depended 
upon  for  a  real  comprehension  of  what  he 
was  trying  to  do  and  say.  "  Are  ye  so  with- 
out understanding  also?"  he  demands. 
"  Hear  and  understand!  "  This  is  his  con- 
stant plea,  and  "  Have  ye  understood  all 
these  things?"  is  the  question  he  is  repeat- 
edly moved  to  ask  his  disciples,  in  one  form 
or  another.  Time  and  again  he  has  sought 
to  make  his  purpose  clear;  but  whether  they 
have  really  understood  is  quite  doubtful.  It 
makes  for  the  sadness  of  Jesus  —  for  the  sad 
undercurrent  in  many  of  his  teachings  and 
experiences. 

The  longer  Jesus  taught,  the  more  con- 
vinced he  grew  of  this  futility  —  of  this  diffi- 
culty  to   communicate   his    spirit   to   others, 


88         A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

fully  to  share  his  ideal  with  others,  to  flood 
with  the  Hght  of  his  doctrine  those  souls  that 
had  not  received  it  themselves  from  the 
Father.  "  No  man  can  come  to  me  except 
the  Father  who  hath  sent  me  draw  him." 

In  the  early  days  of  his  teaching  he  cer- 
tainly felt  that  it  was  possible  for  him,  the 
son,  to  make  known  God,  the  Father.  He 
conceived  it  his  mission  to  do  this.  It  is  er- 
roneous to  think  that  Jesus  was  the  first  to 
introduce  into  the  vocabulary  of  Israel  the 
designation  of  God  as  Father.  This  ap- 
pellation goes  back  to  the  Jewish  Bible,  and 
to  Jesus  it  had  become  familiar  from  the 
Bible  and  many  another  Jewish  writing,  as 
well  as  from  the  prayers  that  were  in  every- 
day use  among  his  people.  "  Our  Father 
who  art  in  heaven  "  was  part  of  many  a  Jew- 
ish prayer  of  his  day.  But  the  designation 
of  God  as  Father  was  Jesus'  favorite  form, 
expressing  his  basic  and  most  intimate  con- 
ception of  his  own  and  other  men's  relation- 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  89 

ship  to  God.  He  was  convinced  that  there 
was  no  such  efficacious  way  of  knowing  God 
as  through  His  child,  Man,  and  no  such  cer- 
tain way  of  knowing  Man  as  through  his 
Father,  God.  The  conception  was  not  new; 
it  was  common  among  his  people ;  but  it  was 
personalized  in  him  and  became  his  profound 
conviction. 

This  conviction  came  to  him  from  his  own 
experience,  and,  in  his  enthusiasm,  he 
dreamed  of  making  this  truth  known  to 
others,  felt  by  others.  But  the  longer  he 
taught,  the  more  deeply  he  realized  that 
while  the  truth  was  there,  it  was  not  easy 
to  make  it  clear  to  those  to  whom  the  Father 
—  God  —  Himself  had  not  revealed  It. 
"  Unto  you  it  is  given  to  know  the  mysteries 
of  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,  but  to  them  It 
is  not  given.  For  whosoever  hath,  to  him 
shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  abundance : 
but  whosoever  hath  not,  from  him  shall  be 
taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath."     Jesus 


90  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

became  more  and  more  silent.  Even  his 
speech  was  half-silence.  He  spoke  in  half- 
words.  He  was  convinced  of  the  futility  of 
explanation  to  people  who  could  not  under- 
stand, who  could  not  perceive  for  themselves, 
who  were  blind  to  the  light. 

Nowhere  do  we  find  this  confirmed  more 
strongly  than  in  the  closing  scenes  of  his  life. 
In  his  trial  before  the  high-priest,  in  his  stand 
before  Pilate,  on  the  very  cross  —  he  does 
nothing  so  little  as  explain.  "  Jesus  held  his 
peace."  He  is  the  man  of  silence  through- 
out. *'  He  gave  no  answer,  not  even  to  one 
word."  He  is  the  man  who  has  learnt  the 
folly  of  trying  to  explain  the  incomprehen- 
sible, who  has  learnt  the  sorrow  of  misun- 
derstanding. "  Thou  hast  said."  "  Thou 
sayest."  His  final  cry  betrays  it.  It  is  ad- 
dressed not  to  man,  but  to  God  —  with 
whom  he  has  been  communing,  sharing  his 
thoughts  —  the  Father  whom  it  had  been  his 
aim  to  make  known  to  others.      "  My  God, 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  91 

my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me?  "  It 
is  a  cry  out  of  the  depths  of  a  silent  soul 
—  a  soul  forced  into  the  regions  of  silence 
by  the  misunderstanding,  the  incomprehen- 
sion, of  the  world. 

What  we  should  bear  in  mind,  however, 
Is  that  it  was  natural  for  Jesus  to  have  .been 
misunderstood  and  opposed  by  his  contem- 
poraries, allowing  for  those  peculiarities  of 
human  nature  which  have  always  existed  and 
have  not  yet  ceased. 

At  first,  the  public  appearance  of  Jesus 
created  surprise  amon'g  those  that  knew 
him. 

''  Coming  into  his  own  country,  he  taught  them 
in  their  Synagogue  inasmuch  that  they  were  aston- 
ished and  said,  Whence  hath  this  man  this  wisdom 
and  these  powers?  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  son? 
Is  not  his  mother  called  Mary  and  his  brethren 
James  and  Joseph  and  Simon  and  Judas,  and  his 
sisters,  are  they  not  all  with  us?  Whence,  then, 
hath  this  man  all  these  things?  And  they  were 
surprised  in  him."      {Mat.  13:54-57-) 


92  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Presently,  however,  surprise  turned  to  re- 
sentment and  antipathy.  Jesus  stood  for 
something  that  differed  radically  from  the 
conventional  religion  of  the  masses :  he  stood 
for  prophetic  religion  as  against  mechanical 
religion,  for  a  spiritual  and  not  a  material 
faith:  he  stood  for  Jewish  mysticism  rather 
than  for  Jewish  politics.  What  more  natu- 
ral than  that  he  should  have  aroused  all 
kinds  of  discussion  and  opposition  (which 
is  the  natural  offspring  of  discussion)  ? 
"Some  said  he  is  a  good  man;  others  said 
nay,  he  deceiveth  the  people."  To  some  he 
was  a  prophet,  to  others  an  imposter.  Some 
thought  him  inspired,  others  queer.  Some 
considered  him  a  saint,  others  a  doubtful 
character,  a  glutton  and  wine-bibber,  hardly 
respectable,  because  he  associated  with  pub- 
licans and  was  charitable  to  sinners. 

"Whereunto  shall  I  liken  this  generation?  It  is 
like  unto  children  sitting  in  the  market  places  which 
call  unto  their  fellows  and  say:     We  piped  unto 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  93 

ye  and  ye  did  not  dance,  we  wailed  and  ye  did  not 
mourn.  For  John  came  neither  eating  nor  drinking, 
and  they  say  he  hath  a  devil.  The  son  of  man 
came'  eating  and  drinking,  and  they  say.  Behold,  a 
gluttonous  man  and  a  wine  bibber,  a  friend  of  pub- 
licans and  sinners!  "      {Mat.  11:  16-19.) 

Indeed,  there  was  so  much  doubt  of  Jes-us' 
worth,  and  aspersion  of  his  motives,  that 
there  were  moments  when  the  worst  thing 
happened  that  can  possibly  befall  the  ideal- 
ist: he  began  to  question  himself,  trying  to 
determine  what  his  real  character  and  com- 
mission were,  and  seeking  an  answer  to  those 
crucial  questions  from  friends  and  disciples. 
It  is  a  sad  moment  for  the  idealist  when 
conflict  and  mistrust  have  served  so  to  con- 
fuse him  as  to  send  him  to  others  for  a  de- 
termination of  his  individuality. 

As  for  the  various  leaders  of  the  people, 
it  was,  again,  quite  natural  for  them  to 
treat  him  either  with  aloofness  or  with  hos- 
tility.    The  heads  of  the  schools,  who  were 


94  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Pharisees,  no  doubt  regarded  him  as  an  en- 
thusiast, a  detached  preacher  of  ethical  and 
spiritual  religion,  which  In  itself  coincided 
with  the  ethical  and  spiritual  purposes  of  the 
authorized  teachers,  notwithstanding  his  oc- 
casional attacks  on  old  and  commonly  ac- 
cepted laws.  And  as  for  the  priestly  class 
and  the  aristocrats,  they  treated  him  with 
the  suspicion  and  hostihty  which  his  attitude 
to  them,  and  his  utterances,  could  not  but 
provoke. 

Since  Jesus  sought  to  teach  and  to  do  what 
he  did,  I  say.  It  was  natural  that  he  should 
have  encountered  misunderstanding,  suspi- 
cion, and  hostihty.  But  we  ought  not  to 
forget  that  in  this  regard  Jesus  shared  what 
thus  far  has  proved  the  Inevitable  fate  of  all 
IdeaHsts,  and  what  particularly  had  to  be 
endured  by  most.  If  not  all,  the  Prophets 
of  Israel.  Amos,  Jeremiah,  Ehjah,  Moses, 
and  many  others  had  to  face  no  less  a 
measure    of    misunderstanding    and    abuse. 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  95 

Jeremiah   depicts   their   common   experience 
when  he  laments  his  own. 

"  O  Lord,  Thou  hast  enticed  me,  and  I  was  enticed, 
Thou  hast  overcome  me,  and  hast  prevailed ; 
I  am  become  a  laughing-stock  all  the  day, 
Every  one  mocketh  me. 
Because  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  made 
A  reproach  unto  me,  and  a  derision,  all  the  day, 
And  if  I  say :  '  I  will  not  make  mention  of  Him 
Nor  speak  any  more  in  His  name,' 
Then  there  is  in  my  heart  as  it  were  a  burning  fire 
Shut  up  in  my  bones. 
And  I  weary  myself  to  hold  it  in, 
But  cannot." 

Yet,  it  is  just  here  that  we  witness  one 
of  the  paradoxes  of  Jewish  history,  and,  per- 
haps, of  Jewish  character.  While  the  Jews 
persecuted  and  tormented  their  Prophets, 
they  none  the  less,  by  some  peculiar  procliv- 
ity or  predestination,  respected  them  and 
their  mission.  There  was  always  enough 
regard  for  the  Prophet  to  make  it  possible 
for  him  to  proclaim  his  message,  no  matter 


96  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

how  bitter  a  denunciation  of  the  people  it 
carried.  The  Jews  were  accustomed  to  the 
freedom  of  prophesying,  and  they  preserved 
the  prophetic  castigations  as  part  of  their 
sacred  literature. 

This  Jewish  toleration  of  the  Prophet, 
and  of  the  ethical  critic,  attended  Jesus.  It 
made  it  possible  for  him  to  go  about  teaching 
in  the  synagogues  and  the  Temple,  and  ar- 
guing with  scribes  and  priests,  despite  the 
opposition  he  aroused.  As  a  teacher  of  re- 
ligion and  morality,  no  one  could  interfere 
with  him,  even  had  his  teachings  been  more 
revolutionary  than  they  were.  If  later  on 
Jesus  died  for  his  utterances  or  enterprises, 
it  was  certainly  not  because  of  anything  he 
taught  in  connection  with  religion  or  ethics. 

But  Jesus  was  not  merely  tolerated  by  his 
Jewish  contemporaries.  By  many  of  them 
he  was  treated  with  love,  friendship,  and 
tenderness. 

One  of  the  great  errors  usually  commit- 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  97 

ted  Is  the  assumption  that  from  his  Jewish 
contemporaries  Jesus   received  nothing  but 
hatred  and  perescution.     The  Jews  are  sup- 
posed to  have  made  his  life  miserable  and 
continually  to  have  plotted  to  kill  him.     Of 
course,   this  peculiar   notion   dates  back  to 
the  age  of  the  Gospels.     It  is  a  strange  pe- 
culiarity   of    the    Gospels    that    the    word 
"  Jews "   is  constantly  used  in  contrast   to 
Jesus  and  his  followers.     But  were  not  the 
latter  also  Jews?     It  betrays  the  anti-Jewish 
bias  of  the  Gospels,  the  fact  that  they  re- 
ceived their  present  form  when  antagonism 
already  existed  between  the  churches  and  the 
Jews,  as  well  as  an  effort  to  please  the  non- 
Jewish  world,  for  whom  the  Gospels  were 
chiefly  written,  at  the  expense  of  the  Jews. 
This  peculiar  notion  has  been  perpetuated  to 
this  day.     The  Jews  are  all  supposed  to  have 
been  arrayed  against  Jesus. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  contrary  is  true. 
For  an  ideahst,  Jesus  found  more  than  the 


98  A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

common  measure  of  appreciation  among  his 
Jewish  contemporaries.  As  a  teacher,  he 
was  not  merely  tolerated.  By  many  he  was 
lov^ed.  First,  there  were  the  crowds  of 
which  we  hear  repeatedly  as  thronging  to 
him  and  hailing  him  as  teacher  and  friend. 
They  were  all  Jews.  Then,  there  were  his 
disciples :  they  were  Jews.  Then,  there  were 
his  intimate  friends,  apart  from  those  said 
to  have  been  officially  appointed  as  apostles. 
And,  finally,  there  were  the  women  who  were 
devoted  and  ministered  to  him,  and  brought 
their  children  to  be  touched  and  blessed  by 
him. 

Was  any  teacher  ever  surrounded  by  so 
large  a  number  of  loving  and  loyal  friends? 
And  that  in  spite  of  the  complete  surrender 
he  exacted.  To  be  his  disciple  one  had  to 
give  up  everything,  even  kith  and  kin. 
Everything  had  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  ideal. 

"  Why  call  ye  me,  Lord,  Lord,  and  do  not  the 
things  which  I  say?  " 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  99 

"  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord, 
shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

"  If  any  man  cometh  unto  me,  and  hateth  not 
his  own  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children, 
and  brethren,  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also, 
he  cannot  be  my  disciple.  Whosoever  doth  not  bear 
his  own  cross,  and  come  after  me,  cannot  be  my 
disciple." 

"  There  is  no  man  that  hath  left  house,  or  breth- 
ren, or  sisters,  or  mother,  or  father,  or  children,  or 
lands,  for  my  sake,  and  for  the  gospel's  sake,  but  he 
shall  receive  a  hundredfold  now  in  this  time,  houses, 
and  brethren,  and  sisters,  and  mothers,  and  chil- 
dren, and  lands,  with  persecutions;  and  in  the 
world  to  come  eternal  life." 

Notwithstanding  the  severe  test,  the  circle 
of  Jesus'  friends,  apart  from  his  official 
disciples,  is  both  varied  and  interesting: 
Lazarus,  Nicodemus,  Joseph  of  Arimathea, 
Zaccheus;  and  among  the  women,  Mary  and 
Martha  (sisters  of  Lazarus) ,  Mary  of  Mag- 
dala  (out  of  whom  went  seven  devils), 
Joanna  (wife  of  Herod's  steward),  Susanna, 


loo        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Salome :  surely  an  array  of  friends,  loyal  and 
true,  as  has  seldom  been  excelled;  and  they 
were  all  Jews.  To  think  of  this  is  to  realize 
the  foolishness  of  the  assumption  that  Jesus 
failed  to  receive  appreciation  and  love  from 
his  Jewish  contemporaries. 

"  And  Jesus  went  about  in  all  Galilee,  teaching  in 
their  synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of  the 
kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner  of  disease  and  all 
manner  of  sickness  among  the  people.  And  the 
report  of  him  went  forth  into  all  Syria;  and  they 
brought  unto  him  all  that  were  sick,  holden  with 
diverse  sicknesses  and  torments,  possessed  with  devils, 
and  epileptics,  and  palsied,  and  he  healed  them. 
And  there  followed  him  great  multitudes  from 
Galilee  and  Decapolis  and  Jerusalem  and  Judea  and 
from  beyond  the  Jordan." 

Nor  is  it  strange  that  Jesus  should  have 
gained  such  a  following. 

It  was  due,  first  of  all,  to  the  personal 
character  of  his  teaching  and  work.  Jesus 
differed  in  this  respect  from  the  majority  of 
Jewish  teachers.     The  latter,  as  a  rule,  were 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  loi 

interested  in  principles,  in  doctrines,  In  Ideals; 
they  taught  Impersonally:  this  Is  true  from 
the  Prophets  down.  Some  regard  It  as  the 
special  merit  of  the  Jewish  method  —  this 
spiritual  and  ethical  objectivity.  Jesus 
taught  personally.  He  pointed  to  himself 
not  merely  as  an  illustration  of  his  teaching, 
but  as  an  incarnation  of  it.  When  Moses 
addressed  the  Israelites,  and  wished  to  bring 
the  thought  of  God  home  to  them,  he  said: 
"  The  God  of  your  fathers  has  sent  me  unto 
you !  "  Jesus,  on  the  other  hand,  always 
spoke  of  his  own  God,  his  own  Father.  It 
was  not  a  different  idea;  it  was  a  change  of 
emphasis,  and  the  change  was  toward  the  ac- 
centuation of  the  personal  element,  Jesus' 
own  personal  interfusion  with  his  teaching. 
The  natural  consequence  was  his  personal  ap- 
peal to  his  hearers,  and  the  personal  response 
of  not  a  few. 

There  must  be  added,  of  course,  the  help- 
ful healing  power  which  Jesus  exercised,  and 


I02        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

which  gained  for  him  the  gratitude  and  good- 
will of  many,  as  well  as  the  ultimate  repu- 
tation of  a  worker  of  miracles. 

Moreover,  that  such  a  teacher  should  have 
won  the  friendship  of  Jewish  women  is  also 
easy  to  understand,  particularly  if  one  thinks 
of  the  remarkable  part  that  women  played 
in  the  Jewish  life  of  the  time. 

Some  think  that  the  presence  of  women  In 
the  story  of  Jesus  marks  a  complete  change 
In  the  position  of  woman  in  Israel.  That, 
of  course,  Is  an  error.  One  must  not  forget 
the  great  women  of  the  Old  Testament,  nor 
of  the  Talmud,  nor  the  fact  that  the  pages 
of  Josephus  are  crowded  with  references  to 
women,  and  to  their  conspicuous  part  in  the 
religious  and  political  agitations  of  the  time. 
Jewish  women  took  part  in  the  activity  of 
Jesus,  because  they  were  accustomed  to  take 
part  In  the  religious  and  political  life  of  the 
people. 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  103 

It  is  these  friendships,  of  both  men  and 
women,  that  put  sweetness  and  satisfaction 
into  the  life  of  Jesus.  Always  humble  and 
unpretentious,  always  tolerant  and  human, 
always  sensible  of  the  mixture  of  frailty  and 
divinity  in  human  nature,  he  was  grateful  for 
signs  of  friendship,  whatever  their  form. 
The  hardest  thing  Jesus  had  to  bear,  as 
Padraic  Pearse,  the  Irish  poet,  has  pointed 
out,  was  the  scattering  of  his  friends.  "  Is 
it  not  a  sad  thing,"  asks  the  poet,  "  that  every 
good  fellowship  is  broken  up?  Even  that 
little  league  of  twelve  in  Gahlee  was  broken 
full  soon."  Having  learnt  that  it  is  the  lot 
of  the  idealist  to  be  misunderstood  by  most, 
Jesus  was  the  more  grateful  for  the  few  who 
were  likely  to  understand  —  whose  soul  was 
likely  to  prove  a  good  and  fertile  soil  for  the 
seed  he  was  seeking  to  sow. 

"  Behold,  the  sower  went  forth  to  sow ;  and  as 
he  sowed,  some  seeds  fell  by  the  way  side,  and  the 


I04        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

birds  came  and  devoured  them:  and  others  fell  upon 
the  rocky  places,  where  they  had  not  much  earth: 
and  straightway  they  sprang  up,  because  they  had 
no  deepness  of  earth:  and  when  the  sun  was  risen, 
they  were  scorched;  and  because  they  had  no  root, 
they  withered  away.  And  others  fell  upon  the 
thorns;  and  the  thorns  grew  up,  and  choked  them: 
and  others  fell  upon  the  good  ground,  and  yielded 
fruit,  some  a  hundredfold,  some  sixty,  some  thirty. 
He  that  hath  ears,  let  him  hear."      {Mat.  13  :  3-9.) 

In  the  parable  of  the  sower,  we  have  a  com- 
plete picture  of  the  reception  Jesus  expected 
and  found  among  his  contemporaries. 
*'  Know  ye  not  this  parable,  and  how  shall 
ye  know  all  the  parables?  " 

"  Hear  then  ye  the  parable  of  the  sower.  When 
any  one  heareth  the  word  of  the  kingdom,  and 
understandeth  it  not,  then  cometh  the  evil  one,  and 
snatcheth  away  that  which  hath  been  sown  in  his 
heart.  This  is  he  that  was  sown  by  the  way  side. 
And  he  that  was  sown  upon  the  rocky  places,  this 
is  he  that  heareth  the  word,  and  straightway  with 
joy  receiveth  it;  yet  hath  he  not  root  in  himself, 
but  endureth  for  a  while;  and  w^hen  tribulation 
or  persecution  ariseth  because  of  the  word,  straight- 


HIS  CONTEMPORARIES  105 

way  he  stumbleth.  And  he  that  was  sown  among 
the  thorns,  this  is  he  that  heareth  the  word;  and 
the  care  of  the  world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of 
riches,  choke  the  word,  and  he  becometh  unfruitful. 
And  he  that  was  sown  upon  the  good  ground,  this 
is  he  that  heareth  the  word,  and  understandeth 
it;  who  verily  beareth  fruit,  and  bringeth  forth, 
some  a  hundredfold,  some  sixty,  some  thirty." 
{Mat.  13:  18-23.) 


THE  JEWISH  MESSIAH  IDEA 
AND  JESUS 

*' How  did  Jesus  become  the  Messiah? 
Here,"  says  a  French  author,  "  is  the  para- 
mount, the  essential  question  in  the  concep- 
tion of  Jesus." 

It  is  certainly  true  that  with  the  idea  of 
Jesus  as  the  Messiah  is  bound  up  most  of  his 
history.  Jesus  may  have  been  a  unique  per- 
sonaHty  and  a  unique  religious  teacher,  but 
to  the  great  majority  of  those  who  have 
accepted  him  through  the  ages  he  has  been 
chiefly  the  Messiah,  the  Christ.  Even  to- 
day the  question  in  regard  to  Jesus  upper- 
most in  the  average  mind  is  whether  or  no 
one  acknowledges  him  as  the  Messiah. 
Equally  true  it  is  that  it  is  impossible  to  un- 
derstand the  causes  that  led  to  the  death  of 
Jesus  without  considering  the  Jewish  idea 
io6 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS         107 

of  the  Messiah  and  the  relation  of  Jesus  to 
It. 

There  are  those  who  regard  the  messianic 
idea  as  the  most  beneficent  contribution  of 
the  Jew  to  human  Hfe.  Others  try  to  prove 
that  the  idea  of  a  Messiah,  a  redeemer,  a 
final  restorer  and  joy-bringer,  was  not  con- 
fined to  the  Jewish  people,  but  that,  in  one 
form  or  another,  it  existed  among  other 
early  races.  Certain  it  is  that  nowhere  the 
idea  of  a  Messiah  came  to  play  as  important 
a  part  as  in  Israel.  Among  the  Jews  it 
assumed  a  central  place  in  the  order  of  life 
and  faith.  Moreover,  from  Israel  it  was 
taken  over  by  others,  serving  as  the  core 
of  religion  to  uncounted  millions.  With 
non-Jews  the  idea  has  undergone  many  modi- 
fications, some  of  a  radical  nature.  But  it 
originated  among  the  Jews,  and  among  them 
also  it  passed  through  a  process  of  develop- 
ment before  it  received  the  form  and  the 
force  it  possessed  in  the  age  of  Jesus. 


io8        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

It  Is  Important  to  understand  the  Influ- 
ence the  Jewish  Idea  of  the  Messiah  exercised 
on  Jesus,  and  the  attitude  he  took  to  It.  But 
we  can  hope  to  understand  It  only  by  tracing 
its  development  among  the  Jews. 

The  origin  of  the  Idea  of  a  Messiah  we 
find  In  the  teachings  and  visions  of  the  Jewish 
Prophets. 

We  know  that  the  Prophets  were  first  and 
last  .  teachers  of  Righteousness.  As  such 
they  frequently  had  to  perform  the  unpleas- 
ant task  of  criticizing  their  people,  of  rebuk- 
ing It  severely  for  moral  and  spiritual  trans- 
gressions. Sometimes  we  are  told  that  the 
Prophets  were  pohtlcal  leaders.  But  their 
Interest  In  pohtlcs  was  Inspired  altogether  by 
religious  and  ethical  motives.  To  the 
Prophets  the  chief  concern  of  life  was  Right- 
eousness and  their  Intercession  In  the  political 
life  of  their  people  was  for  the  purpose  of 
vindicating  or  advancing  the  demands  of 
Righteousness.     An    unrighteous    Israel    to 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS        109 

them  was  a  disloyal  and  treacherous  Israel, 
for  the  reason  that  God  was  the  true  king 
of  Israel,  and  God  was  a  God  of  Righteous- 
ness, or  of  Holiness,  who  expected  the  same 
qualities  of  His  people,  and  particularly  of 
the  rulers,  the  kings  of  the  people,  regarded 
as  God's  representatives  on  earth  and 
anointed  as  such.  For  this  reason  the 
Prophets  were  moved  to  castigate  their  peo- 
ple, and  even  to  predict  its  fall  and  destruc- 
tion, because  of  its  unfaithfulness. 

On  the  other  hand,  however,  the  Prophets 
loved  their  people  and  were  convinced  that 
God's  choice  and  love,  once  bestowed  upon 
Israel,  were  everlasting. 

'*  How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim? 
How  shall  I  surrender  thee,  Israel? 
My  heart  Is  turned  within  Me, 
My  compassions  are  kindled  together!  " 

God's  love  was  stronger  than  His  wrath. 
Even  after  periods  of  faithlessness  and  for- 
saking, there  was  bound  to  be  a  renewal  of 


no        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

the   old  love,   the   old   faith,   the   old   cove- 
nant. 

"And  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  Me  for  ever; 

Yea,  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  Me, 
In    righteousness,    and    in    justice. 

And  in  lovingkindness,  and  in  compassion. 
And  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  Me 

In    faithfulness : 
And  thou  shalt  know  the  Lord !  " 

This  conviction  of  the  Prophets  inspired 
them  with  hope,  and,  amid  visions  of  de- 
struction and  desolation,  it  caused  them  to 
raise  sanguine  eyes  to  the  future,  however 
distant.  "  In  the  end  of  days  it  shall  come 
to  pass  " —  this  vision  ever  and  anon  formed 
for  the  Prophets  a  wondrous  antidote  to 
the  bitterness  of  the  present. 

"In  the  end  of  days!"  What  was  to 
happen  in  the  end  of  days?  In  those  days 
there  would  be  a  restoration  of  Israel,  a  res- 
toration of  the  rule  of  righteousness,  a  res- 
toration of  the  covenant  between  God  and 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS         iii 

His  people,  a  renewal  of  the  reign  of  peace, 
justice,  charity,  and  happiness.  The  ruler 
of  those  days  would  be  the  true  king,  the 
true  representative  of  God,  the  true  Anointed 
.(or,  Messiah).  Before  the  advent  of  that 
messianic  age,  the  world  would  witness  much 
suffering  and  tribulation,  there  would  be  the 
day  of  Judgment  —  the  Day  of  the  Lord  — 
many  would  be  sifted  out  and  only  a  residue 
would  remain,  but  the  glorious  age  in  the 
end  would  compensate  for  all  the  troubles 
and  miseries  of  the  past,  and,  as  its  blessings 
will  extend  to  all  nations,  Israel  will  by  his 
afflictions  and  bruises  have  benefited  not  only 
himself  but  all  mankind.  It  is  in  some  such 
way  as  this  that  the  Prophets  thought  and 
dreamed  of  the  future,  and  thus  they  created 
the  messianic  idea,  which  came  to  play  so 
vital  a  part  In  Jewish  history. 

One  cannot  help  realizing  that  with  the 
Prophets  this  Idea  was  almost  .unconscious. 
It  was   a   natural  sequel  of  their  belief  in 


112        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

the  future  of  their  people,  In  the  eternity  of 
the  Divine  Covenant.  This  Covenant  was 
bound  to  reassert  Itself  when  the  people  had 
suffered  sufficiently  for  —  had  expiated  — 
Its  faithlessness.  It  was  part  of  the  Inevit- 
able triumph  of  love,  as  Hosea  conceived  It, 
over  temporary  estrangement  and  Infidelity. 
Granted  the  faith  and  the  vision  of  the 
Prophets,  we  can  see  how  natural  to  them 
was  the  messianic  hope. 

Of  course,  to  each  of  the  Prophets,  ac- 
cording to  temperament,  certain  features  of 
the  future  stood  out  most  conspicuous  and 
alluring.  To  Isaiah  It  was  the  coming  of 
a  perfect  ruler,  different  from  the  timid,  va- 
cillating, and  Inconfident  king  with  whom  he 
dealt  at  the  Court  of  Jerusalem;  to  Jeremiah, 
one  of  the  most  spiritual  and  subjective  — 
one  of  the  most  lyrical  —  of  Prophets,  It 
meant  the  actualization  of  personal  religion, 
religion  as  an  Inward  revelation  and  power, 
as  a  covenant  not  taught  by  man  to  man,  but 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS        113 

written  deep  in  every  man's  heart;  to  MIcah 
It  signified  the  consummation  of  the  real 
meaning  of  religion  in  all  Its  moral  grandeur 
and  simplicity  and  the  Interlinking  of  nations 
In  the  chains  of  peace  and  good  will :  and  so 
forth  for  each  of  the  Prophets,  according 
to  his  particular  predisposition  and,  perhaps, 
according  to  the  peculiar  conditions  of  his 
age.  But  to  every  one  of  them  the  messianic 
hope  and  conviction  as  such  was  a  natural, 
a  wellnigh  If  not  wholly  unconscious,  result 
of  his  faith  in  the  indestructible  character 
of  his  people  and  of  the  Divine  Covenant 
with  it. 

In  the  course  of  time,  however,  the  mes- 
sianic idea  became  the  subject  of  conscious 
speculation  and  minute  discussion.  As  peo- 
ple began  to  realize  that  Israel  had  suffered 
beyond  measure  and  none  the  less  the  perfect 
age  and  final  restoration  had  not  arrived, 
they  began  to  employ  their  minds  on  the  old 
prophecies.     They  began  to  calculate  when 


114        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

the  messianic  age  finally  would  come,  to  spec- 
ulate as  to  just  what  its  nature  would  be, 
and  to  look  for  the  man  who  might  bring 
It  about. 

It  Is  easy  to  conceive  the  conditions  likely 
to  engender  such  studies  and  to  stimulate 
such  speculation.  Such  conditions  arose  In 
times  of  persecution,  of  warfare,  of  uncom- 
mon struggle  and  distress.  No  wonder, 
then,  that  the  first  extant  result  of  such  spec- 
ulations we  have  in  the  book  of  Daniel,  which 
was  probably  written  In  the  days  of  the  Mac- 
cabean  revolt.  This  book  is  not  only  itself 
an  attempt  to  forecast  the  messianic  age,  but 
it  started  a  whole  literature  similarly  em- 
ployed. In  this  literature  —  the  apocalyptic 
books  —  and  In  the  subsequent  rabbinical 
writings  we  find  traces  of  the  several  forms 
that  the  messianic  idea  gradually  assumed  in 
Israel. 

It  Is  a  mistake  to  think  that  all  Jews  had 
the  same  idea  on  the  subject.     Uniformity 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS        115 

was  never  an  Intellectual  or  spiritual  char- 
acteristic of  the  Jews.  They  all  hoped  for 
a  messianic  time;  all  beheved  in  it,  yearned 
for  it.  But  as  to  its  character,  there  was 
variation. 

There  were,  at  least,  three  different  in- 
terpretations. First,  there  was  the  purely 
political  expectation  —  that  of  a  perfect 
emancipator  and  ruler  of  Israel.  Then, 
there  was  the  construction  of  those  who, 
tired  of  waiting  for  an  earthly  paradise, 
transferred  their  hopes  for  the  future  to 
heaven,  to  the  hereafter.  And,  finally,  there 
was  the  view  of  those  who  attached  little 
importance  to  political  schemes  and  fastened 
their  whole  attention  on  Rehgion  and  its 
tasks,  regarding  them  as  the  whole  and  sole 
concern  of  man.  All  these  groups  were 
hoping  for  the  Kingdom  of  God,  as  the  mes- 
sianic age  was  designated,  but  to  the  different 
groups  the  Kingdom  of  God  connoted  differ- 
ent things,  though  no  doubt  there  were  some 


ii6        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

to  whom  they  meant  all  these  things  together. 
The  messianic  hope  envisaging  a  perfect 
ruler  we  find  expressed,  for  example,  in  the 
Psalms  of  Solomon,  which  were  probably 
composed  about  a  half  century  before  Jesus. 

"  Behold,  O  Lord,  and  raise  up  unto  them  their 

king,  the  son  of  David, 
At  the  time  in  which  Thou  seest,  O  God,  that  he 

may  reign  over  Israel  Thy  servant. 
And  gird  him  with  strength,  that  he  may  shatter 

unrighteous  rulers. 
And  that  he  may  purge  Jerusalem  from  nations 

that  trample  her  down  to  destruction. 
Wisely,    righteously   he   shall   thrust   out   sinners 

from  the  inheritance. 
He   shall   destroy   the   pride   of   the  sinner   as   a 

potter's  vessel. 
With  a  rod  of  iron  he  shall  break  in  pieces  all 

their  substance. 
He   shall   destroy   the   godless  nations   with   the 

word  of  his  mouth; 
At  his  rebuke  nations  shall  flee  before  him, 
And  he  shall  reprove  sinners  for  the  thoughts  of 

their    heart. 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS        117 

"  And  he  shall  gather  together  a  holy  people,  whom 

he  shall  lead  in  righteousness. 
And  he  shall  judge  the  tribes  of  the  people  that 

has  been  sanctified  by  the  Lord  his  God. 
And  he  shall  not  suffer  unrighteousness  to  lodge 

any  more  in  their  midst, 
Nor  shall  there  dwell  with  them  any  man  that 

knoweth  wickedness, 
For  he  shall  know  them,  that  they  are  all  sons 

of  their  God. 
And  he  shall  divide  them  according  to  their  tribes 

upon  the  land. 
And    neither    sojourner    nor    alien   shall   sojourn 

with  them  any  more. 
He  shall  judge  peoples  and  nations  in  the  wisdom 

of   his   righteousness. 

''  And  he  shall  have  the  heathen  nations  to  serve 

him  under  his  yoke; 
And  he  shall  glorify  the  Lord  in  a  place  to  be 

seen  of  all  the  earth; 
And  he  shall  purge  Jerusalem,  making  it  holy  as 

of  old: 
So  that  nations  shall  come  from  the  ends  of  the 

earth  to  see  his  glory. 
Bringing  as  gifts  her  sons  who  had  fainted. 


ii8        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

And  to  see  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  wherewith  God 

hath  glorified  her. 
And  he  shall  be  a  righteous  king,  taught  of  God, 

over  them, 
And  there  shall  be  no  unrighteousness  in  his  days 

in  their  midst. 
For  all  shall  be  holy  and  their  king  the  anointed 

of  the  Lord. 
For  he  shall  not  put  his  trust  in  horse  and  rider 

and  bow, 
Nor  shall  he  multiply  for  himself  gold  and  silver 

for  war. 
Nor  shall  he  gather  confidence  from  a  multitude 

for  the  day  of  battle, 
The  Lord  Himself  is  his  king,  the  hope  of  him 

that  is  mighty  through  his  hope  in  God. 

"  For  he  will  smite  the  earth  with  the  word  of  his 

mouth  for  ever. 
He  will  bless  the  people  of  the  Lord  with  wisdom 

and  gladness, 
And  he  himself  will  be  pure  from  sin,  so  that  he 

may  rule  a  great  people. 
He   will    rebuke   rulers,    and   remove   sinners   by 

the  might  of  his  word  ; 
And  relying  upon  his  God,  throughout  his  days 

he  will  not  stumble; 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS        119 

For  God  will  make  him  mighty  by  means  of  His 

holy  spirit, 
And  wise  by  means  of  the  spirit  of  understanding, 

with  strength  and  righteousness. 
And  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  will  be  with  him: 

he  will  be  strong  and  stumble  not; 
His  hope  will  be  in  the  Lord :  who  then  can  pre- 
vail against  him? 
He  will  be  mighty  in  his  works,  and  strong  in  the 

fear  of  God, 
He   will   be   shepherding  the   flock  of   the   Lord 

faithfully  and  righteously. 
And  will  suffer  none  among  them  to  stumble  in 

their  pasture. 
He  will  lead  them  aright, 
And  there  will  be  no  pride  among  them  that  any 

among  them  should  be  oppressed. 


This  will  be  the  majesty  of  the  king  of  Israel 

whom  God   knoweth; 
He  will  raise  him  up  over  the  house  of  Israel  to 

correct  him. 
His  words  shall  be  more  refined  than  costly  gold, 

the   choicest ; 
In  the  assemblies  he  will  judge  the  peoples,  the 

tribes  of  the  sanctified. 


I20        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

His  words  shall  be  like  the  words  of  the  holy 
ones  in  the  midst  of  sanctified  peoples. 

Blessed  be  they  that  shall  be  in  those  days, 

In  that  they  shall  see  the  good  fortune  of  Israel 
which  God  shall  bring  to  pass  in  the  gather- 
ing together  of  the  tribes. 

May  the  Lord  hasten  His  mercy  upon  Israel! 

May  He  deliver  us  from  the  uncleanness  of  un- 
holy enemies!  " 

A  good  illustration  of  the  messianic  de- 
spair of  the  material  world  and  a  withdrawal 
into  the  spiritual  realm,  we  find  in  the  Fourth 
Book  of  Ezra,  which  was  probably  written 
in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era. 

*'  For  the  world  has  lost  its  youth, 

The  times  begin  to  wax  old. 

Now,  therefore,  set  in  order  thy  house,  and  re- 
prove thy  people; 

Comfort  the  lowly  among  them,  and  instruct 
those  that  are  wise. 

Now  do  thou  renounce  the  life  that  is  corruptible, 
let  go  from  thee  the  cares  of  mortality;  cast 
from  thee  the  burdens  of  man,  put  off  now 
the  weak  nature;  lay  aside  thy  burdensome 
cares,  and  hasten  to  remove  from  these  times! 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS         121 

For  still  worse  evils  than  those  which  thou  hast 
seen  happen  shall  yet  take  place.  For  the 
weaker  the  world  grows  through  age,  so  much 
the  more  shall  evils  increase  upon  the  dwellers 
on  earth. 

Truth  shall  withdraw  further  off,  and  falsehood 
be  nigh  at  hand." 

Again : 

*'  Behold  the  days  come,  and  it  shall  be. 

When  I  am  about  to  draw  nigh  to  visit  the  dwell- 
ers upon  earth, 

And  when  I  require  from  the  doers  of  iniquity  the 
penalty  of   their  iniquity; 

And  when  the  Age  which  is  about  to  pass  away 
shall  be  sealed,  then  will  I  show  these  signs: 
the  books  shall  be  opened  before  the  face  of 
the  firmament,  and  all  see  together. 

And  one-year-old  children  shall  speak  with  their 
voices ;  pregnant  women  shall  bring  forth  un- 
timely births  at  three  or  four  months,  and 
these  shall  live  and  dance.  And  suddenly 
shall  the  sown  places  appear  unsown,  and  the 
full  storehouses  shall  suddenly  be  found 
empty.  And  the  trumpet  shall  sound  aloud, 
at  which  all  men,  when  they  hear  it,  shall 
be   struck   with   sudden   fear.     And    at   that 


122        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

time  friends  shall  war  against  friends  like 
enemies,  the  earth  shall  be  stricken  with  fear 
together  with  the  dwellers  thereon,  and  the 
springs  of  the  fountains  shall  stand  still  so 
that  for  three  hours  they  shall  not  run. 

And  it  shall  be  whosoever  shall  have  survived  all 
these  things  that  I  have  foretold  unto  thee, 
he  shall  be  saved  and  shall  see  my  salvation 
and  the  end  of  my  world.  And  the  men 
who  have  been  taken  up,  who  have  not  tasted 
death  from  their  birth,  shall  appear.  Then 
shall  the  heart  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  world 
be  changed,  and  be  converted  to  a  different 
spirit. 
For  evil  shall  be  blotted  out,  and  deceit  extin- 
guished ; 

Faithfulness  shall  flourish,  and  corruption  be  van- 
quished ; 

And   truth   which   for   so   long  a   time  has  been 
without  fruit,  shall  be  made  manifest." 

Finally,  in  the  Book  of  Enoch,  composed 
in  the  first  century  before  Jesus,  we  have 
a  good  picture  of  the  heavenly  Messianic 
Kingdom. 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS         123 

"  And   there   I   saw  another  vision,   the  dwelling- 
places  of  the  holy, 
And  the  resting-places  of  the  righteous. 


"  Here  mine  eyes  saw  their  dwellings  with  His  right- 
eous angels. 
And  their  resting-places  with  the  holy. 

"  And   they  petitioned  and  interceded  and   prayed 
for  the  children  of  men, 
And  righteousness  flowed  before  them  as  water, 
And  mercy  like  dew  upon  the  earth: 
Thus  it  is  amongst  them  for  ever  and  ever. 

And  in  that  place  mine  eyes  saw  the  Elect  One 
of  righteousness  and  of  faith, 

And  I  saw  his  dwelling-place  under  the  wings 
of  the  Lord  of  Spirits, 

And  righteousness  shall  prevail  in  his  days. 

And  the  righteous  and  elect  shall  be  without  num- 
ber before  Him  for  ever  and  ever. 

And  all  the  righteous  and  elect  before  Him  shall 
be  strong  as  fiery  lights, 

And  their  mouth  shall  be  full  of  blessing. 


124        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

"  And   their  lips  extol   the  name  of   the  Lord   of 

Spirits, 
And  righteousness  before  Him  shall  never  fail, 
And  uprightness  shall  never  fail  before  Him. 
There  I  wished  to  dwell, 

And  my  spirit  longed  for  that  dwelling-place: 
And  there  heretofore  hath  been  my  portion. 
For  so  has  it  been  established  concerning  me  before 

the  Lord  of  Spirits." 

Now,  the  thing  to  bear  in  mind  Is  that 
the  age  of  Jesus  was  a  time  when  all  these 
Interpretations  of  the  messianic  idea  were 
found  side  by  side  and  fought  for  recogni- 
tion. For  that  there  was  ample  reason. 
For  centuries  the  Jews  had  suffered  all  kinds 
of  political  persecution  and  tribulation.  One 
after  the  other,  their  own  rulers  failed  them, 
their  most  brilliant  hopes  were  extinguished. 
The  Maccabean  dynasty,  first  hailed  as  mes- 
sianic, deteriorated  disgracefully.  The  reign 
of  Herod  was  a  mixture  of  cruelty  and  scan- 
dal. The  rule  of  Rome  was  Intolerable.  It 
was   a   time   of  Intrigue   and   tyranny.     No 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS        125 

wonder  the  hope  for  the  messianic  day  be- 
came intense,  and  no  wonder  different  men 
held  different  ideas  as  to  what  it  would  be. 
Some  waited  for  the  poHtical  redeemer; 
others  said,  Oh,  no,  it  means  scorn  of  mate- 
rial things  and  engrossment  in  spiritual  real- 
ities, while  still  others  turned  their  eyes  to 
heaven,  hoping  there  to  find  reward,  har- 
mony, and  peace. 

A  time  came,  some  years  after  Jesus,  when 
the  Jews  grew  weary  of  speculation  and  left 
the  coming  of  the  Messiah  to  God.  The 
failure  of  numerous  attempts  at  poUtical 
emancipation  had  worn  them  out.  There 
was  nothing  to  do  but  wait  for  God's  own 
time.  Faith  took  the  place  of  human  effort. 
Indeed,  certain  rabbis  declared  it  sinful  to 
try  by  human  effort  to  hasten  the  advent  of 
the  Messiah.  "  I  adjure  you,  O  daughters 
of  Jerusalem,"  they  quoted  from  The  Song 
of  Songs,  "  that  ye  awaken  not,  nor  stir  up 
love,  until  it  please."     This  they  interpreted 


126        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

as  a  Divine  protest  against  hastening  the 
Messiah  by  human  means.  "  When  Divine 
Justice  considers  the  time  ripe,  I  shall  cause 
the  day  of  Love  to  come  with  many  voices, 
and  I  shall  not  delay."  Such  redemption, 
held  the  rabbis,  would  be  permanent.  "  Said 
the  Holy  One  blessed  be  He,  Hitherto  ye 
have  been  redeemed  by  flesh  and  blood,  and 
ye  have  been  returned  time  and  again  to 
servitude  In  exile,  but  in  the  days  to  come 
you  shall  be  redeemed  by  the  Holy  One  with 
an  everlasting  redemption  after  which  there 
shall  be  no  servitude.     As  it  Is  written: 

'  And  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return, 
And  come  with  singing  unto  Zion, 
And  everlasting  joy  shall  be  upon  their  heads; 
They  shall  obtain  gladness  and  joy, 
And  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away ; ' 
and  also : 

**  '  Israel  shall  be  helped  by  the  Lord  with  an 
everlasting   redemption.'  " 

The  relegation  of  the  Messianic  day  to  the 

remote   realm   of   faith,   however,   occurred 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS         127 

after  the  age  of  Jesus.  In  the  days  of  Jesus, 
the  different  currents  of  messianic  expecta- 
tion met  together  —  they  formed  the  mes- 
sianic whirlpool  of  the  times. 

What  attitude  did  Jesus  take  to  those 
ideas?  Of  one  thing,  no  doubt,  he  was  con- 
vinced from  the  outset,  namely,  that  the  king- 
dom of  God  was  at  hand.  It  was  this  teach- 
ing of  John  the  Baptist  that  inspired  him  to 
enter  upon  his  public  ministry,  having  hith- 
erto Hved  and  taught  more  or  less  privately 
—  preferably  privately.  (He  never  quite 
outgrew  the  reluctance  to  reach  "  the  multi- 
tude.") When  he  began  to  teach  broad- 
cast, this  was  his  message:  "The  time  is 
fulfilled,  and  the  kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand: 
repent  ye,  and  beheve  the  good  tidings!" 
Nor  did  his  message  fail  of  a  hearing.  For 
many  reasons  he  drew  multitudes.  His  own 
personality,  as  well  as  the  temper  of  the 
times,  gained  him  hearers. 


128        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Ere  long,  however,  he  was  called  upon  to 
answer  two  questions  of  vital  import.  First, 
what  was  to  be  the  nature  of  the  kingdom 
that  was  at  hand,  as  he  said  it  was?  And, 
secondly,  what  was  his  own  relation  to  the 
kingdom  that  he  forecast,  his  own  place  in 
it?  It  is  easy  enough  to  ridicule  the  people 
of  the  time  for  having  asked  such  questions, 
to  scorn  them  as  men  of  little  faith,  and  such- 
like; but  no  reasonable  person  will  deny  that 
they  were  most  natural  questions  from  people 
as  vitally  concerned  as  were  the  Jews  of  the 
time. 

Jesus  himself  felt  that  he  had  to  answer 
those  questions.  He  had  to  decide  —  not 
only  for  others,  but  for  himself.  A  private 
person  might  harbor  vague  notions  about 
vital  questions.  But  the  public  teacher  may 
not.  He  must  decide.  It  was  the  necessity 
of  decision  on  that  vital  point  of  his  ministry 
that  created  the  crisis  in  the  life  of  Jesus. 

He   began   to   wonder  —  to   reasfon  —  to 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS        129 

ask  others.  What  did  the  Messiah  mean? 
What  did  the  Kingdom  mean?  And  what 
was  he  himself  with  respect  to  It?  "Who 
do  men  say  that  I  am?  Who  say  ye  that 
I  am?"  Simon  Peter  (one  of  his  closest 
disciples)  answered,  "  Thou  art  the  Mes- 
siah !  "  We  do  not  know  whether  that  an- 
swer at  first  pleased  Jesus  or  no,  or  whether 
the  suggestion  that  he  was  the  Messiah  first 
came  from  his  disciples,  or  whether  he  made 
It  to  them.  Certain  It  Is  that  he  was  reticent 
about  It  and  asked  his  disciples  at  first  to 
say  nothing  about  It. 

"  And  Jesus  went  forth,  and  his  disciples,  into  the 
village  of  Caesarea  Philippi:  and  in  the  way  he 
asked  his  disciples,  saying  unto  them,  Who  do  men 
say  that  I  am?  And  they  told  him,  saying,  John 
the  Baptist:  and  others,  Elijah;  but  others,  One 
of  the  prophets.  And  he  asked  them,  But  who  say 
ye  that  I  am?  Peter  answereth  and  saith  unto 
him,  Thou  art  the  Christ.  And  he  charged  them 
that  they  should  tell  no  man  of  him."  {Mark  8, 
27-30) 


I30       A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

When  finally  Jesus  reached  a  decision,  it 
was  true  to  the  ruling  thought  of  his  life. 
It  was  spiritual.  The  Kingdom  of  God,  he 
decided,  was  not  political,  it  was  not  of  this 
world:  It  was  spiritual. 

"  And  when  he  was  demanded  of  the  Pharisees 
when  the  kingdom  of  God  should  come,  he  an- 
swered them  and  said:  The  kingdom  of  God 
Cometh  not  with  observation :  neither  shall  they  say, 
Lo!  here;  or  Lo!  there.  For,  behold,  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  within  you !  " 

The  Kingdom  of  God  is  already  here  — 
for  those  that  understand,  and  for  those  that 
do  not  understand,  why,  one  must  pray  for 
its  coming.  "  Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy  will 
be  done,  as  in  heaven,  so  on  earth!" 
As  for  himself,  he  decided,  if  to  realize  in- 
wardly the  kingdom  of  God  meant  to  be  the 
Messiah,  the  Anointed  of  God,  God's  Son, 
he  was  the  Messiah. 

"  And  he  began  to  teach  them,  that  the  Son  of 
man  must  suffer  many  things,   and  be  rejected  by 


MESSIAH  IDEA  AND  JESUS        131 

the  elders,  and  the  chief  priests,  and  the  scribes, 
and  be  killed,  and  after  three  days  rise  again.  And 
he  spake  the  saying  openly.  And  Peter  took  him, 
and  began  to  rebuke  him.  But  he  turning  about, 
and  seeing  his  disciples,  rebuked  Peter,  and  saith. 
Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan:  for  thou  mindest  not 
the  things  of  God,  but  the  things  of  men.  And  he 
called  unto  him  the  multitude  with  his  disciples, 
and  said  unto  them,  If  any  man  would  come  after 
me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross, 
and  follow  me.  For  whosoever  would  save  his 
life  shall  lose  it;  and  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life 
for  my  sake  and  the  gospel's  shall  save  it.  For  what 
doth  it  profit  a  man  to  gain  the  whole  world,  and 
forfeit  his  life?  "     {Mark  8,  31-36) 

No  doubt  it  meant  a  great  relief  for  Jesus 
to  harmonize  his  inmost  convictions  with  the 
messianic  passion  of  the  age.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  involved  him  in  the  most  tragic 
misunderstanding  of  his  career.  If  his  other 
teachings  were  so  often  misunderstood  —  at 
times  even  by  his  closest  disciples  —  how 
much  more  likely  was  this  one  to  be  misun- 
derstood, touching  as  it  did  the  most  sensi- 


132        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

tive  spot  In  the  life  of  the  age !  The  multi- 
tude that  had  been  fired  to  believe  that  here 
at  last  was  a  true  deliverer,  the  Messiah  they 
had  hoped  for,  turned  away  from  him,  dis- 
appointed, disillusioned,  embittered.  One 
of  his  own  disciples  turned  against  him  — 
betrayed  him.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
rulers,  hearing  that  he  had  proclaimed  him- 
self Messiah,  and  having  had  experience  with 
other  self-styled  messiahs,  decided  to  hand 
him  over  to  the  Roman  authorities,  lest  the 
whole  people  be  charged  with  rebeUion. 
They  were  not  in  a  mood  —  perhaps  they 
had  no  taste  —  for  fine  spiritual  analysis. 
Thus,  Jesus  lost  his  life  in  the  messianic  mael- 
strom of  his  age. 


THE  JEWS  AND  THE  DEATH  OF 
JESUS 

Professor  Graetz  has  said  that  Jesus  is 
the  only  human  being  of  whom  it  may  be 
said  without  exaggeration  that  he  achieved 
more  by  his  death  than  by  his  Ufe. 

It  is  certainly  remarkable  to  what  extent 
the  world's  attention  has  been  focused  on 
the  death,  rather  than  the  Ufe,  of  Jesus. 
Among  Christians  there  is  no  doubt  a  much 
larger  number  of  such  as  regard  the  death 
of  Jesus  as  the  core  of  their  faith  than  of 
those  who  concentrate  on  his  life  and  teach- 
ings. Moreover,  none  will  deny  that  a  great 
deal  of  the  world's  feehng  against  the  Jews 
has  been  fed  by  the  behef  that  they  were 
responsible  for  the  death  of  Jesus.  It  is 
paradoxical,  but  true  that  even  those  who 
treat  the  self-sacrifice  of  Jesus  as  essential 
133 


134        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

to  the  universal  scheme  of  salvation,  are 
yet  hostile  to  the  Jews,  because  they  are  held 
to  have  brought  about  that  self-sacrifice.  It 
Is  therefore  important  to  determine  the  part 
that  the  Jews  had  In  the  death  of  Jesus  and 
also  to  what  It  was  due. 

Unfortunately,  It  Is  far  from  easy  to  do 
so.  If  most  of  the  Incidents  of  Jesus'  life 
are  known  but  vaguely.  If  the  greater  part 
of  his  life  Is  practically  unknown,  what  we 
know  about  the  causes  that  led  up  to  his 
death  is  equally  uncertain  and  based  to  a 
large  extent  on  conjecture.  And  this  for 
the  very  simple  reason  that  the  accounts  we 
possess  are  obscure,  conflicting,  and  incom- 
plete. 

It  Is  peculiar  and  regrettable  that  there  is 
no  reference  to  Jesus  In  the  literature  of  his 
own  age.  Neither  his  life  nor  his  death  Is 
mentioned  In  the  Talmudic  portions  of  his 
period.  What  references  there  are  In  the 
Talmud  to  Jesus  originated  later  on,   and 


THE  DEATH  OF  JESUS  135 

are  In  themselves  so  obscure  and  doubtful  as 
to  be  of  very  little  historic  value.  There 
Is  no  reference  to  Jesus  In  the  works  of  the 
Jewish  philosopher  Phllo,  nor  In  the  histori- 
cal writings  of  Josephus,  though  both  lived 
in  the  first  century,  the  former  In  Alexandria 
and  the  latter  In  Jerusalem  and  In  Rome, 
and  both  were  well-informed.  It  Is  well- 
known  that  one  sentence  on  the  subject  In 
Josephus  Is  universally  considered  a  later 
interpolation,  made  no  doubt  by  a  Christian 
writer  eager  to  remedy  the  obnoxious  omis- 
sion. Whatever  the  cause,  the  silence  of 
contemporary  Jewish  literature  in  regard  to 
Jesus  is  unfortunate  for  the  study  of  the 
subject. 

Our  only  source  of  Information  on  the 
death  of  Jesus  are  the  Gospels.  But  the 
accounts  contained  in  them  vary.  There  are 
differences  between  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  Gospel  of  John,  on 
the  other.      Minor  differences  occur  even  In 


136        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

the  Synoptic  Gospels,  particularly  In  the  de- 
scription of  the  trials  of  Jesus.  Evidently 
the  accounts  were  written  many  years  after 
the  Crucifixion.  None  of  the  writers  had 
himself  been  present  at  the  trials,  at  least 
not  at  the  Jewish  trial,  though  perhaps  John 
(if  he  was  the  beloved  disciple)  was  present 
at  the  Crucifixion.  What  they  wrote  about 
the  Jewish  trial  of  Jesus  —  or  the  circum- 
stances leading  up  to  the  Crucifixion  —  was 
based  on  hearsay,  opinion,  and  tradition. 
By  the  time  they  committed  their  accounts 
to  writing,  moreover,  the  church  had  already 
been  founded,  dogmas  on  the  subject  of  the 
character  and  the  fate  of  Jesus  had  been 
formulated,  and  many  a  controversy  between 
the  Jews  and  the  founders  of  the  new  sect 
had  taken  place.  The  narration  of  the 
death  of  Jesus  no  longer  was  a  mere  question 
of  history,  but  of  religious  Interpretation  and 
argument.  What  wonder  that  the  diverse 
accounts  should  be  more  or  less  at  variance, 


THE  DEATH  OF  JESUS  137 

obscure,  and  incomplete,  and  that  we  of  to- 
day should  find  it  difficult  to  determine  just 
what  really  happened  to  bring  about  the 
death  of  Jesus? 

One  thing  seems  certain.  Jesus,  within  a 
few  days  before  his  death,  suffered  a  most 
complete  change  of  fortune.  I  have  had  oc- 
casion to  point  out  that  the  strange  thing 
in  the  Ufe  of  Jesus  is  not  that  he  encountered 
so  much  misunderstanding  and  hostility,  but 
rather  that  he  enjoyed  such  great  popularity 
with  the  multitude. 

Jesus  was  an  idealist.  He  interpreted  life 
in  terms  of  spirit.  He  scorned  and  smashed 
the  idols  of  the  masses.  Such  a  man  could 
scarcely  hope  for  universal  recognition  and 
approval.  Jesus  himself  felt  it.  He  was 
constantly  haunted  by  the  apprehension  that 
even  those  that  hung  on  his  lips  did  not  really 
perceive  the  inner  meaning  of  his  words. 
Time  and  again  he  questioned  his  closest 
disciples  as  to  whether  they  understood  what 


138        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

he  was  trying  to  say,  and  more  than  once 
disciples  left  him  as  a  result  of  his  scrutiny. 
All  this  is  perfectly  in  accord  with  the  usual 
fate  of  the  idealist. 

The  strange  thing  about  Jesus,  however, 
is  that  he  should  have  gained  such  marked 
popularity.  It  is  an  indication  of  what 
power  of  attraction  his  personaHty  possessed, 
and,  also,  of  the  strong  appeal  of  his  mes- 
sage to  his  age,  with  its  unusual  spiritual 
and  political  unrest.  This  popularity  seems 
to  have  increased  particularly  in  the  closing 
days  of  his  life. 

Perhaps  it  was  due  to  his  self-association 
with  the  messianic  movement.  No  matter 
what  construction  he  put  on  the  word  Mes- 
siah, and  on  the  idea  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven :  those  were  the  things  the  people 
dreamed  of,  desired,  and  discussed  more  than 
any  other,  and  the  self-identification  of  a 
young,  enthusiastic,  and  cherished  leader 
with  them  was  bound  to  enhance  his  popu- 


THE  DEATH  OF  JESUS  139 

larlty.  Was  he  thinking  of  one  thing  when 
he  spoke  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and 
was  the  multitude  thinking  of  another? 
That  is  what  formed  the  tragedy.  But  that 
identification  with  the  Messianic  thought  in- 
creased his  hold  on  the  people,  we  cannot 
doubt. 

Jesus'  last  entry  into  Jerusalem  was 
triumphal.  It  was  different  from  that  of 
the  Galilean  dreamer  and  enthusiast  of  for- 
mer days.  It  was  that  of  a  hero !  The 
people  waved  palm  branches  before  him  and 
his  followers,  and  hailed  him  leader. 

*'  And  many  spread  their  garments  upon  the  way; 
and  others  branches,  which  they  had  cut  from  the 
fields.  And  they  that  went  before,  and  they  that 
followed,  cried,  Hosanna ;  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord:  Blessed  Is  the  kingdom 
that  cometh,  the  kingdom  of  our  father  David: 
Hosanna  in  the  highest!  " 

Jesus  was  at  the  height  of  his  power.  It 
was  on  the  Sunday  before  Passover.     The 


I40        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

city  was  full  of  pilgrims  from  all  over  the 
country.  Pilate,  the  governor,  was  there 
with  his  soldiers,  on  the  lookout  for  signs  of 
revolt,  which  had  grown  rather  frequent. 
Jesus  was  more  outspoken  and  aggressive 
than  ever.  He  taught  In  the  synagogue  of 
the  city  and  In  the  Temple;  he  not  only  de- 
nounced the  merchants  and  moneychangers 
that  had  their  stalls  In  the  Temple,  but  drove 
them  out;  he  affirmed  his  authority  against 
priests  and  scribes :  In  every  way  he  showed 
that  he  was  In  a  state  of  excitement  and  the 
hero  of  the  hour. 

Yet,  within  a  couple  of  days,  all  this  Is 
changed.  His  own  exultation  gives  way  to 
depression;  he  reahzes  that  the  end  of  his 
earthly  career  Is  near;  he  catches  wind  of 
a  plot  forming  against  him,  with  one  of  his 
own  disciples  betraying  him;  and  forthwith 
he  finds  himself  deserted  by  the  multitude 
that  had  but  just  hailed  his  coming;  his  ac- 
tivity Is  stopped,  he  Is  seized,  abused,  and 


THE  DEATH  OF  JESUS  141 

crucified,  with  the  loud  approval  of  the  multi- 
tude. 

What  was  behind  this  terrible  change? 
What  was  the  cause  of  it  all?  The  answer 
we  must  seek  in  the  accounts  of  the  Gospels 
concerning  the  trial  of  Jesus.  Were  these 
accounts  clear  and  consistent,  we  should  know 
definitely  why  the  people  suddenly  turned 
against  Jesus  and  why  a  few  days  after 
his  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem  he  was 
crucified.  But  there's  the  rub.  The  stories 
of  the  Gospels  are  inadequate  and  confus- 
ing. 

Who  tried  Jesus?  When  was  he  tried? 
Was  he  tried  by  the  full  Sanhedrin  of  sev- 
enty-one, or  by  a  smaller  Sanhedrin  of  twen- 
ty-three, or  was  there  no  trial  by  the  Sanhe- 
drin at  all?  Was  he  tried  by  the  Sanhedrin 
at  night,  or  in  early  morning?  What  were 
the  charges  against  him,  and  by  whom  were 
they  brought?  Of  what  was  he  convicted 
by    the    Jewish    court  —  of    caUing    himself 


142        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Messiah,  of  blaspheming,  or  of  what  ?  Was 
he  crucified  on  the  eve  of  Passover  or  on  the 
first  day  of  Passover? 

The  very  fact  that  there  has  been  no  end 
of  debate  of  these  crucial  points  shows  how 
doubtful  and  deficient  are  the  accounts  of 
the  Gospels.  The  author  of  the  latest  book 
on  the  subject  reaches  the  conclusion  that 
the  Sanhedrin  merely  acted  as  an  investigat- 
ing body  in  regard  to  the  charges  brought 
against  Jesus,  whereas  the  actual  trial  took! 
place  before  Pilate,  who,  as  Roman  gover- 
nor, had  sole  right  of  jurisdiction  and  punish- 
ment, and  that  both  the  investigation  and 
the  trial,  as  well  as  the  execution,  were  per- 
fectly legal  and  In  accord  with  Roman  pro- 
cedure. But,  on  the  other  hand,  is  It  not 
noteworthy  that  the  Gospel  of  John,  which 
is  particularly  full  In  the  narration  of  the 
last  scenes  of  Jesus'  life,  has  nothing  to  say 
about  a  trial  by  a  Jewish  court?     It  is  ex- 


THE  DEATH  OF  JESUS  143 

tremely  difficult  to  draw  definite  information 
from  the  Gospels  about  the  Jewish  trial  of 
Jesus. 

What  we  know  of  Jewish  legal  procedure 
and  religious  observance  makes  it  most  im- 
probable that  Jesus  was  tried  by  the  Sanhe- 
drin.  First,  it  would  have  been  most  unusual 
that  the  Sanhedrin  should  have  been  sum- 
moned in  the  middle  of  the  night.  Secondly, 
no  man  could  have  been  tried  for  his  Hfe  at 
a  night  session,  unless  the  trial  had  gone  on 
during  the  preceding  day.  Thirdly,  the  trial 
and  the  Crucifixion  are  supposed  to  have 
taken  place  on  the  night  and  the  day  of  the 
first  day  of  Passover,  which  is  quite  out  of 
the  question  in  view  of  the  hoHness  of  the 
day.  The  Jewish  trial  described  in  the  Gos- 
pels is  so  full  of  irregularities  and  improba- 
bilities that  we  may  well  assume  that  it  repre- 
sents a  later  assumption  rather  than  an  actual 
fact. 


144        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

On  the  other  hand,  it  seems  most  probable 
that  Jesus  was  seized  by  the  Roman  govern- 
ment and  tried  and  executed  by  the  orders 
of  Pilate.  Indeed,  this  is  all  that  Tacitus, 
in  his  Annals,  written  in  the  closing  years 
of  the  first  century,  has  to  say  about  the 
death  of  Jesus.  Referring  to  the  Christians, 
he  says  that  they  are  called  thus  from  Christ, 
who  was  executed  by  Pilate  in  the  reign  of 
Tiberius. 

When  the  Gospels,  however,  were  com- 
posed, Pilate  had  become  an  almost  pious 
figure  —  a  wellnigh  Christian  soul :  efforts 
were  made  to  exculpate  him  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, to  minimize  his  share  in  the  Crucifixion. 
He  is  represented  as  trying  to  release  Jesus, 
and  even  his  wife  is  brought  in,  pleading  with 
him  to  the  same  effect.  He  is  made  to  wash 
his  hands,  Jewish  fashion,  as  a  symbol  of 
his  rejection  of  all  responsibility. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  coloring 
of  the  story  of  the  Crucifixion  was  inspired 


THE  DEATH  OF  JESUS  145 

by  consideration  for  the  Roman  world  and 
by  animosity  to  the  Jews  who  so  resolutely 
declined  to  accept  the  new  religion. 

In  reality,  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  Pilate,  hearing  of  Jesus,  regarded  him 
as  a  new  claimant  to  the  part  of  Messiah, 
of  the  kind  he  had  learnt  to  fear  as  chiefs  of 
rebellion.  As  it  was  the  season  of  Passover, 
when  the  city  was  full  of  pilgrims  and  of 
national  enthusiasm,  his  fears  grew  the 
worse.  He,  therefore,  ordered  the  arrest  of 
the  new  leader  and  his  immediate  trial  and 
execution. 

As  portrayed  in  the  Gospels,  one  would 
think  that  Pilate  was  on  the  one  hand  a 
saint,  and,  on  the  other,  a  coward.  As  a 
saint,  he  discerns  the  innocence  of  Jesus  and 
tries  to  save  him;  as  a  coward,  he  is  afraid 
of  the  Jews,  and  yields  to  them.  This  de- 
piction is  altogether  out  of  accord  with  the 
characterization  of  Pilate  given  by  contem- 
porary historians.      Both  Philo  and  Josephus 


146        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

describe  him  as  cruel,  tyrannical,  and  arbi- 
trary, and  In  most  sacred  matters  heedless 
of  the  traditions  and  pleadings  of  the  Jew- 
ish people.  His  rule  of  Palestine  often  led 
to  outbreaks  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  order 
massacres  of  the  people.  It  Is  altogether  Im- 
probable that  he  should  have  so  far  deviated 
from  his  customary  conduct  as  to  plead  for 
the  release  of  a  man  charged  with  rebellion, 
or  that  he  should  have  been  unable  to  re- 
lease him  had  he  chosen  so  to  do.  Of  course, 
it  is  quite  likely  that  Jesus  was  denounced 
to  Pilate,  or  that  Pilate  was  aided,  by  some 
of  the  Jewish  rulers.  The  priests  and  offi- 
cers of  the  Jews  had  reason  to  oppose  Jesus 
and  to  fear  his  activity.  But  the  actual  ar- 
rest and  trial  of  Jesus  were  no  doubt  con- 
ducted by  Pilate  In  accordance  with  his  usual 
methods. 

This  assumption  Is  confirmed  by  the  fol- 
lowing circumstances. 

First,  the  captors  of  Jesus  are  said  not  to 


THE  DEATH  OF  JESUS  147 

have  known  him  personally,  and  it  required 
the  betrayal  of  one  of  his  disciples  to  Identify 
him.  Is  It  possible  that  a  man  who  had 
grown  so  well  known  In  Jerusalem,  should 
have  remained  a  total  stranger  to  Jewish 
officers?  It  Is  possible,  however.  If  those 
arresting  him  were  Roman  officers  come  to 
the  city  for  the  occasion. 

Secondly,  the  charge  on  which  Pilate  tries 
Jesus  Is  that  of  being  the  Messiah  —  the 
King  of  the  Jews.  It  Is  the  only  question 
that  Interested  Pilate.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  could  not  form  the  cause  for  a  criminal 
trial  from  the  Jewish  point  of  view.  It 
might  have  been  thought  madness.  It  was  no 
crime,  to  call  oneself  a  king  or  to  represent 
oneself  as  redeemer  of  one's  people. 

Thirdly,  the  form  of  Jesus'  execution  was 
Roman,  not  Jewish.  The  Jews  did  not  know 
of  crucifixion  until  the  Romans  brought  It 
to  Palestine.  Varus,  according  to  Josephus, 
crucified  two  thousand  Jews  at  once,  while 


148        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Titus  is  said  to  have  crucified  so  many  that 
"  room  was  wanting  for  the  crosses,  and 
crosses  for  the  bodies."  What  the  Jews 
tried  to  do  was  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of 
crucifixion  by  allaying  its  pain  and  hastening 
death. 

Fourthly,  the  Crucifixion  was  attended  by 
jeers  of  Roman  soldiers,  mocking  Jesus  for 
playing  the  Messiah,  while  on  the  Cross 
Pilate  ordered  the  inscription :  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth, King  of  the  Jews,  which  he  insisted 
on  keeping  there  even  when  the  Jews  pro- 
tested against  it  and  its  implications. 

Amid  the  uncertainties  one  thing  stands 
out,  namely,  the  spirit  in  which  Jesus  met 
both  his  trial  and  his  death.  Whatever 
doubts  and  speculations  the  Messiah-idea 
may  have  engendered  within  him,  whatever 
futile  efforts  he  may  have  made  as  leader  of 
the  people,  at  the  last  moment  his  old  self 
reasserted  itself.     He  felt  afresh,  and  more 


THE  DEATH  OF  JESUS  149 

strongly  than  ever,  that  his  kingdom  was  not 
of  this  world,  that  true  power  was  not  ma- 
terial but  spiritual,  and  that  he  was  at  one 
with  his  Father.  Above  all,  he  felt  again 
what  his  years  of  teaching  had  taught  him 
that  it  was  useless  to  try  to  explain  spiritual 
truth  to  such  as  did  not  perceive  it  by  them- 
selves. When  Pilate  questions  him  about 
his  being  King  of  the  Jews,  Jesus  asks  for 
the  source  of  his  information.  "  Knowest 
thou  it  of  thyself  or  have  others  told  thee 
it  of  me?"  It  was  not  irony,  as  is  com- 
monly assumed:  it  was  a  reflection  of  Jesus' 
inmost  thought.  The  high-priest  is  an- 
swered in  the  same  way. 

"  The  high  priest  therefore  asked  Jesus  of  his 
disciples  and  of  his  teaching.  Jesus  answered  him, 
I  have  spoken  openly  to  the  world;  I  ever  taught 
in  synagogues,  and  in  the  temple,  where  all  the 
Jews  come  together;  and  in  secret  spake  I  nothing. 
Why  askest  thou  me?  ask  them  that  have  heard 
me,  what  I  spake  unto  them:  behold,  these  know 
the  things  which  I  said." 


I50        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

One's  own  knowledge  is  the  only  knowl- 
edge that  counts.  It  Is  the  only  knowledge 
that  reveals  the  truth.  And  his  last  word  is 
that  those  that  know  the  truth  shall  hear  him. 
Only  his  agony  wrings  from  him  the  cry: 
"  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken 
me?  "  But  He  is  his  God  still.  And  it  cer- 
tainly is  in  tune  with  his  whole  character 
and  course  —  with  his  sad  realization  of 
people's  Imperfect  understanding,  his  exalta- 
tion of  the  spirit,  his  ever-present  sense  of 
union  with  his  Father  —  to  close  his  life  with 
the  words:  '' Father,  forgive  them:  for 
they  know  not  what  they  do,"  and,  with  his 
last  breath,  to  call  aloud  those  fine  Hebrew 
words:  "Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  com- 
mend my  spirit !  " 

"  Father." 

"  They  know  not." 

"  Into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit." 
In  these  sentences  we  have  a  summary  of  the 
life  and  death  of  Jesus. 


JESUS  AND  JEWISH  HISTORY 

Often  one  wonders  why  Jesus  has  played 
so  small  a  part  in  Jewish  history.  In  the 
Jewish  literature  of  his  own  time  there  is  no 
mention  of  him,  and  such  references  as  are 
found  in  later  talmudic  passages  are  meager 
and  of  doubtful  value.  They  are  vague  al- 
lusions to  Jesus,  or  traditions  about  him, 
rather  than  direct  citations  of  his  work  and 
teachings.  Some  people  grow  indignant  at 
the  thought  that  those  sparse  allusions  are 
not  very  appreciative  or  reverential.  But 
it  is  foolish  wrath.  Those  passages  in  them- 
selves were  the  result  of  controversy  and 
bitterness,  and  are  no  more  hostile  to  Jesus 
than  many  a  passage  found  in  the  Gospels 
and  attributed  to  Jesus  (as  the  result  no 
doubt  of  similar  conditions)  are  to  the  Jews. 
People  also  wonder  why  in  subsequent  ages 
151 


152        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

the  Jews  had  made  so  Httle  of  Jesus,  seeing 
that,  after  all,  he  was  one  of  their  own, 
and  had  so  continually  addressed  himself  to 
them  and  their  spiritual  welfare.  This  ques- 
tion we  can  answer  only  by  taking  a  look  at 
the  course  of  Jewish  history,  insofar  as  Jesus 
is  related  to  it. 

One  thing  must  be  clear  to  any  one  at 
all  acquainted  with  the  history  of  Jewish 
thought.  Jesus  could  not  possibly  have  been 
excluded  from  Jewish  history,  nor  ignored 
by  it,  for  the  mere  reason  that  he  was  a  re- 
former, or  that  he  thought  and  taught  about 
religion  in  a  way  different  from  others,  nor 
because  he  criticized  his  contemporaries.  In 
that  respect,  he  was  not  so  unique  among  the 
Jews  as  to  have  incurred  the  punishment  of 
silence  at  the  hands  of  his  contemporaries  or 
of  history. 

The  Jews  believed  in  individuality  of 
teaching,    in    freedom    of    expression,    and, 


JESUS  AND  JEWISH  HISTORY      153 

though  they  may  not  have  accepted  a  teach- 
er's opinion,  they  listened  to  what  he  had 
to  say.  The  whole  Talmud  owes  its  origin 
and  bulk  to  this  very  characteristic,  and  to 
the  extent  to  which  it  was  applied. 

Even  excommunication  for  overmuch  In- 
dividuality of  expression  or  eccentricity  of 
^practice  could  not  have  removed  Jesus  from 
the  history  of  his  time.  There  are  instances 
of  some  of  the  greatest  scholars  of  the  Tal- 
mud being  excommunicated  by  their  col- 
leagues; one  of  the  most  eminent  and  most 
popular  of  them  all  —  Eleazer  ben  Hyr- 
canos,  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century 
—  died  excommunicate;  yet  their  names  were 
not  blotted  out,  nor  did  they  cease  being  cited 
afterwards.  Over  three  hundred  and  thirty 
utterances  of  Eleazer  ben  Hyrcanos  are 
cited  In  the  MIshnah,  the  basic  portion  of 
the  Talmud.  His  Illustrious  contemporary, 
Akabiah  ben  Mahalalel,  also  was  excommu- 
nicated   for   not    yielding   to    the    majority, 


154        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

which  at  that  particular  time  formed  a  new 
rule. 

Neither  could  Jesus'  self-declaration  as 
Messiah  have  blotted  his  name  from  the  an- 
nals of  his  people.  Others  have  called  them- 
selves Messiah,  and  Jewish  history  has  taken 
account  of  them  and  their  followers,  even 
though  their  enterprises  and  pretensions 
proved  pitiable  failures.  When  in  the  sec- 
ond century  Bar  Kochba  announced  himself 
as  the  Messiah  and  led  a  revolt  against 
Rome,  Akiba,  one  of  the  foremost  rabbis  of 
the  age  (and  no  doubt  others  also),  sup- 
ported him  —  and  though  Bar  Kochba's  mes- 
siahship  collapsed,  Jewish  history  has  not 
made  it  a  reproach  against  Akiba  that  he 
supported  the  temporary  leader.  There  are 
similar  instances  in  later  Jewish  history. 

If  Jesus's  appearance  and  disappearance 
were  followed  by  silence,  it  was  due  to  two 
causes. 


JESUS  AND  JEWISH  HISTORY      155 

First  of  all,  to  the  character  of  his  own 
personality.  He  himself  was  a  silent  man. 
He  was  not  a  man  of  the  multitude,  save 
through  the  necessity  of  his  ideal  and  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  his  age  that  thrust 
him  into  the  public  current.  "  Seeing  the 
multitudes  he  went  up  into  a  mountain." 
*'  Now  when  Jesus  saw  great  multitudes 
about  him,  he  gave  commandment  to  depart 
unto  the  other  side."  Jesus  was  a  man  of 
silence,  and  such  a  man  is  followed  by  silence 
when  he  leaves  the  world.  As  soon  as  the 
multitude  observed  that  he  was  different  than 
they,  that  his  words  were  different,  that  his 
thoughts  and  purposes  were  different,  they 
turned  away  and  left  him  to  himself.  He 
was  none  of  them,  and  little  did  they  care 
about  finding  out  what  he  really  meant.  As 
for  the  schools  and  their  leaders,  he  never 
had  been  one  of  them;  though  in  teaching 
he  used  at  times  their  methods,  he  was  apart 
from  them :  no  wonder  they  did  not  cite  him. 


156        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

That  was  the  first  cause  of  silence.  The 
second  lay  in  the  conditions  which  put  Jesus 
forth  as  the  founder  and  protagonist  of  a 
new   faith. 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  Jesus  died  a 
Jew,  and  not  a  Christian.  His  last  prayers 
were  Jewish,  hallowed  by  Jewish  tradition 
and  usage.  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 
Thou  forsaken  me?  "  "  Into  Thy  hands  I 
commend  my  Spirit !  "  He  died  a  Jew,  hav- 
ing no  idea  that  he  was  destined  to  be  called 
the  founder  of  a  new  faith,  to  supersede  or 
destroy  his  own.  That  this  part  fell  to  him 
was  due  entirely  to  the  small  group  of  men 
and  women  that  had  followed  him  and  stood 
by  him  to  the  last,  because  they  loved  him. 

If  Christianity  is  a  religion  of  love,  as  is 
commonly  affirmed,  it  is  such  for  no  reason 
so  truly  as  that  which  brought  it  into  being. 
Lovers  of  Jesus,  in  the  literal  sense,  formed 
the  first  band  of  Christians;  simple  folk,  who 
had  followed  Jesus  with  their  hearts,  rather 


JESUS  AND  JEWISH  HISTORY      157 

than  their  heads,  who  probably  knew  little, 
and  cared  less,  about  the  doctrinal  implica- 
tions of  his  utterances,  but  who  gave  them- 
selves to  him  because  they  loved  him  for 
what  he  was,  for  himself,  loved  him  with  a 
love  that  passeth  understanding.  And  he 
loved  them  for  this  very  simplicity  of  trust, 
for  this  very  lack  of  pretense,  having  real- 
ized the  emptiness  of  pretense  and  the  hypo- 
crisy of  priestly  and  academic  pomp. 

It  is  those  simple,  loving,  devoted  men 
and  women  —  some  of  whom  had  silently 
wept  at  the  Cross  —  that  were  first  of  all  re- 
sponsible for  the  perpetuation  of  the  name  of 
Jesus.  His  death  made  their  attachment  the 
more  intense.  That  also  is  part  of  love. 
True  love  is  deepened  and  strengthened  by 
misfortune.  True  love  is  subHmated  by  suf- 
fering. It  feeds  on  tragedy,  which  is  the 
grave  of  false  love. 

**  For  love   is  strong  as  Death, 
A  very  flame  of  the  Lord !  '* 


158        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

The  multitude  —  the  mob  —  that  had  waved 
palm  branches  before  Jesus  when  they  took 
him  for  a  king  who  was  going  to  make  them 
free  and  happy,  deserted  him  when  they  saw 
him  a  martyr.  But  those  that  truly  loved 
him,  loved  him  the  more  for  his  Passion. 
Love  said  he  was  the  true  Messiah,  the  suf- 
fering Messiah,  the  self-sacrificing  Messiah. 
It  was  this  band  of  loyal  men  and  women 
that  thus  saved  the  name  of  Jesus  from  ob- 
livion. Whether  Jesus  would  have  ap- 
proved their  conception  of  him  as  the  Mes- 
siah, or  whether  it  meant  to  them  what 
later  It  came  to  mean.  Is  quite  apart.  It  was 
they  who  made  the  name  of  Jesus  immortal. 
Naturally  their  number  grew,  but  the  most 
important  addition  to  their  ranks  they  gained 
when  joined  by  Paul. 

Paul  was  the  intellectual  founder  of  the 
Christian  religion.  His  adoption  of  his  pe- 
culiar theory  about  Jesus  and  the  nature  of 


JESUS  AND  JEWISH  HISTORY      159 

religion,  marked  one  of  the  most  significant 
moments  in  the  spiritual  history  of  the 
world.  Paul  was  an  intellectual  giant. 
Had  he  not  founded  the  Christian  church, 
he  might  have  become  one  of  the  greatest 
rabbis.  He  had  had  the  training  of  a  rabbi, 
had  lived  the  life  of  one,  and  his  entire 
method  of  teaching  and  debate  was  that  of 
the  brilliant  rabbis  of  the  time.  He  is  all 
intellect,  though  he  speaks  of  love  and  grace. 
With  all  the  weapons  of  the  Intellect,  he 
fights  against  the  intellect  in  Religion.  At 
first,  it  would  appear,  that  he  was  a  zealous 
opponent  of  the  followers  of  Jesus.  Contact 
with  them,  though  hostile,  probably  led  him 
to  marvel  at  their  devotion  and  thus  to  pon- 
der on  Jesus,  and  finally  to  his  own  conclusion 
about  Jesus. 

Paul's  conclusion  was  that  Jesus  was  the 
Messiah,  that  after  the  Crucifixion  he  was 
resurrected,  that  his  resurrection  was  a  sign 
of  his  messiahship,  and  that  Jesus  thus  had 


i6o        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

become  the  savior  of  the  world.  To  believe 
In  Jesus  was  to  be  saved.  It  was  the  new 
miracle,  which  heralded  the  abrogation  of 
the  old  Law.  The  old  Law  was  dead.  It 
had  become  nothing  but  a  stumbling-block. 
Faith  was  to  take  Its  place,  and  namely  faith 
in  Jesus.  Whoever  believed  In  Jesus,  was 
saved,  no  matter  whether  he  observed  the 
Law  or  no.  Jesus  Is  first  and  last.  Noth- 
ing else  counts.  Once  Paul  had  embraced 
this  theory,  he  brought  to  bear  the  power 
of  his  intellect  and  the  brilliancy  of  his  style 
on  the  task  of  persuading  others.  He  be- 
came the  fanatic  exponent  of  his  Idea.  He 
traveled  from  place  to  place  In  pursuit  of 
converts.  And  it  was  by  him  and  his  disci- 
ples that  many  Christian  communities  were 
founded  both  In  Palestine  and  elsewhere  — 
all  the  way  to  Athens  and  Rome. 

It  was  perfectly  natural  that  very  serious 
differences  on  the  subject  of  Jesus  should  crop 
up  among  those  early  Christian  communities. 


JESUS  AND  JEWISH  HISTORY      i6i 

Paul's  policy  was  to  be  all  things  to  all  men 
—  in  other  words,  to  connive  at  all  manner 
of  unimportant  differences,  for  the  sake  of 
his  chief  object  —  the  recognition  of  Jesus. 
But  some  of  the  differences  were  fundamental 
and  were  due  to  the  origin  of  the  several 
communities. 

On  the  one  hand,  there  were  the  Christians 
sprung  from  among  the  Jews;  on  the  other, 
there  were  the  pagan  converts.  It  would 
have  been  idle  to  expect  that  all  of  them 
should  understand  the  character  and  function 
of  Jesus  alike.  Nor  did  they.  The  Jewish 
Christians  had  one  conception  of  Jesus;  the 
pagan  Christians  quite  another.  To  the  for- 
mer Jews,  Jesus  was  a  great  man,  descended 
of  David,  a  noble  teacher,  a  lover  of  the  poor 
and  of  poverty,  who  would  some  day  return 
and  finish  the  work  he  had  begun  and  inter- 
rupted by  his  death.  Their  name,  Ebionites, 
from  the  Hebrew  for  "  poor,"  probably  indi- 
cated both  their  class  and  character.     They 


i62        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

came  from  among  the  lowly,  the  humble,  the 
needy,  whose  godliness  the  Psalmists  had 
sung  —  the  poor  in  spirit  whom  Jesus  had 
called  blessed.  To  the  pagan  converts,  on 
the  other  hand,  what  could  a  descendant  of 
David  mean?  To  them  Jesus  became  the 
actual  son  of  God,  miraculously  begotten,  and 
sacrificed  for  the  redemption  of  the  world. 
It  was  such  ideas  as  these  that  not  only  sepa- 
rated the  Ebionites  (or  Jewish  Christians) 
from  the  Hellenes  (or  pagan  Christians), 
but  also  soon  gave  rise  to  all  manner  of  fric- 
tion and  controversy  between  the  two  groups. 
And  it  is  such  controversies  and  differences 
that  found  their  expression  both  in  the  Gos- 
pels, where  we  find  traces  of  both  sets  of 
views,  as  well  as  in  other  writings  of  the 
times. 

Whatever  the  merit  of  these  differences, 
the  fact  is  that  the  Ebionites  soon  lost 
ground.  Both  human  nature  and  history 
were   against  them.     It  was  human  nature 


JESUS  AND  JEWISH  HISTORY      163 

for  those  that  left  the  parent  faith  gradually 
to  be  merged  altogether  In  the  extreme  form 
of  the  new  faith.  And,  besides,  just  then 
the  Temple  was  destroyed,  and  Jerusalem 
fell.  That  event  served  as  an  important 
means  of  propaganda  for  the  new  faith,  and 
helped  to  consolidate  the  pagan-Christian 
forces.  It  was  thus  that  the  CathoHc,  or 
non-Jewish,  elements  of  Christianity  gained 
ascendancy  over  the  Jewish,  and  that  Jesus 
was  removed  more  and  more  from  the  sphere 
and  the  sympathy  of  the  Jews. 

This  estrangement,  of  course,  was  in- 
creased when  Christianity  was  adopted  by 
the  Roman  Empire,  and  entered  upon  a 
policy  of  persecution  against  the  Jews.  I 
shall  not  dwell  on  the  difference  that  soon 
arose  between  the  teachings  of  Jesus  and 
those  of  the  church  organized  under  his 
name.  Others  have  pointed  it  out,  though 
the  old  habit  has  not  yet  died  of  attributing 
everything  that  is  bad  in  Christianity  to  Jew- 


i64        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

Ish  Influence  and  precedent.  But  it  Is  easy 
to  see  how  the  outrageous  persecution  of  the 
Jews  on  the  part  of  the  Christian  world  ne- 
cessarily must  have  made  for  the  neglect  of 
Jesus,  and  for  the  creating  of  antagonism  to 
him,  among  Jews.  Montesquieu,  in  his  great 
work  on  the  Spirit  of  the  Laws,  depicts  the 
effect  on  the  Jews  of  Christian  persecution  in 
the  chapter  called  "  A  Remonstrance  with  the 
Inquisitors  of  Spain  and  Portugal."  "  You 
want  us  to  become  Christians,"  he  makes  the 
Jews  say,  "  but  you  do  not  want  to  be  Chris- 
tians yourselves.  But  If  you  do  not  want  to 
be  Christian,  be  at  least  human."  Robert 
Browning  satirizes  the  unchristian  efforts  to 
convert  the  Jews  in  his  grotesque  poem, 
''  Holy-Cross  Day."  The  more  remarkable 
is  the  fact  that  even  in  the  middle  ages  Jew- 
ish teachers  were  not  wanting  who,  with 
Maimonides,  pointed  out  the  merits  of  Chris- 
tianity as  a  divine  factor  In  spreading  the 
ideals  of  Rehglon  and  Morality  In  the  world. 


JESUS  AND  JEWISH  HISTORY     165 

No  student  of  the  words  of  Jesus  can  pos- 
sibly hold  him  responsible  for  such  applica- 
tion or  construction  of  his  utterances  as  led 
to  the  excision  of  his  name  from  Jewish  his- 
tory. Surely,  his  aim  was  to  the  contrary 
effect.  He  spoke  of  himself  as  part  of  the 
Jewish  people,  as  sent  to  the,m  as  devoted 
to  them.  Nor  did  he  —  while  speaking  of 
himself  as  he  did  —  arrogate  any  powers  in 
heaven  or  on  earth  that  others  might  not  at- 
tain. Even  to  his  favorite  disciples  he  could 
not,  nor  would,  promise  any  special  honors  in 
the  Kingdom  of  God. 

"  And  there  come  near  unto  him  James  and  John, 
the  sons  of  Zebedee,  saying  unto  him,  Master,  we 
would  that  thou  shouldest  do  for  us  whatsoever  we 
shall  ask  of  thee.  And  he  said  unto  them,  What 
would  ye  that  I  should  do  for  you  ?  And  they  said 
unto  him,  Grant  unto  us  that  we  may  sit,  one  on 
thy  right  hand,  and  one  on  thy  left  hand,  in  thy 
glory.  But  Jesus  said  unto  them,  Ye  know  not 
what  ye  ask.  Are  ye  able  to  drink  the  cup  that  I 
drink?  or  to  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  that  I  am 
baptized  with?     And  they  said  unto  him,  We  are 


i66        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

able.  And  Jesus  said  unto  them,  the  cup  that  I 
drink  ye  shall  drink;  and  with  the  baptism  that  I 
am  baptized  withal  shall  ye  be  baptized:  but  to  sit 
on  my  right  hand  or  on  my  left  hand  is  not  mine 
to  give:  but  it  is  for  them  for  whom  it  hath  been 
prepared."     (M^r^  lo:  35-40.) 

When  we  think  of  what  doctrines  were 
founded  on  the  hfe  and  the  words  of  Jesus 
subsequently,  and  to  what  treatment  of  the 
Jews  the  religion  named  after  him  lent  itself, 
we  can  understand  why  so  little  attention 
was  paid  to  Jesus  in  the  course  of  Jewish 
history. 


THE  MODERN  JEWISH  ATTITUDE 
TO  JESUS 

The  attitude  of  the  modern  Jew  to  Jesus 
is  a  subject  of  absorbing  interest.  Just  be- 
cause for  many  years  there  has  been  silence 
and  estrangement,  one  wants  to  know  what 
is  the  present-day  attitude. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  interest  of  Jews 
in  Jesus  was  never  dead.  How  could  they 
fail  to  have  such  an  interest  in  one  who  had 
sprung  from  their  own  midst  and  had  become 
the  most  dominant  personality  in  history? 
An  illustration  is  offered  by  the  legends  about 
Jesus  that  sprang  up  among  the  Jews  and 
were  embodied  in  an  apocryphal  biography. 
This  biography  enjoyed  considerable  popu- 
larity throughout  the  Middle  Ages  and  down 
to  modern  times,  while  its  origin  goes  back 
167 


i68        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

to  antiquity,  perhaps  to  the  third  or  fourth 
century.  Jewish  curiosity  about  Jesus,  how- 
ever, was  thwarted  and  directed  into  hostile 
channels  by  those  untoward  conditions  which 
were  responsible  for  the  gradual  elimination 
of  Jesus  from  the  history  of  his  own  people: 
on  the  one  hand,  by  the  ideas  about  Jesus 
that  were  taken  over  from  non-Jewish 
sources  and  finally  triumphed  over  the  Jewish 
ideas;  and  on  the  other,  by  the  persecution 
of  the  Jews  on  the  part  of  the  people  that 
called  themselves  followers  of  Jesus.  It  was 
thus  that  the  Jews'  natural  interest  in  Jesus 
was  either  suppressed  or  misdirected. 

One  of  the  benefits  of  the  modern  age  has 
lain  in  bringing  people  of  different  races 
and  faiths  closer  together.  The  old  bar- 
riers have  been  lowered.  If  not  removed,  and 
men  have  come  to  feel  that  the  chief  glory 
and  beauty  of  life  lies  not  in  polemics,  but 
In  appreciation  —  not  in  antagonism,  but  in 
sympathy.     Though     Religion    has     always 


MODERN  JEWISH  ATTITUDE      169 

been  represented  as  men's  relation  to  God, 
their  Father,  and  as  the  bond  binding  men 
together.  It  Is  only  recently  that  men  have 
begun  to  feel  the  tragic  disparity  between 
religious  profession  and  the  facts  of  human 
strife  and  antagonism,  particularly  when  the 
latter  are  carried  on  in  the  name  of  ReHgion. 
This  new  realization,  which  has  gone  hand  In 
hand  with  the  latter-day  attention  to  a  com- 
parative study  of  religions,  has  led  to  an 
appreciation  of  the  ideals  common  to  all  re- 
ligions, and  has  engendered  a  larger  measure 
of  sympathy  and  mutual  understanding 
among  the  followers  of  various  faiths. 

The  spirit  of  enlightenment  and  sympathy 
has  brought  about  a  new  era  in  the  relation 
of  the  Jews  to  Jesus.  On  the  one  hand, 
it  has  caused  Christian  scholars  to  revise 
somewhat  the  ancient  conventional  interpre- 
tation of  the  Jewish  contemporaries  of  Jesus, 
particularly  the  much-maligned  Scribes  and 
Pharisees.     On  the  other  hand,  It  has  made 


I70        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

it  possible  for  the  Christian  believer  to  listen 
to  a  Jew's  appraisal  of  Jesus,  and  to  treat 
it  with  respect  and  without  fear  of  the  Jew's 
eternal  damnation,  though  it  differ  from  his 
own  construction. 

Of  course,  it  must  be  stated  that  there  is 
no  official  attitude  of  modern  Jews  to  Jesus. 
Neither  the  Jewish  people,  nor  any  consid- 
erable part  of  it,  has  made  any  formal  dec- 
laration on  the  subject.  Such  discussion  of 
Jesus  as  has  taken  place  among  modern  Jews 
has  been  individual  and  subjective,  expressing 
in  each  instance  personal  study  and  tempera- 
ment. It  is  significant,  however,  that  such 
discussion  has  formed  an  important  part  of 
modern  Jewish  thought.  Modern  writers 
of  Jewish  history,  such  as  Graetz  and  Jost, 
have  not  failed  to  devote  attention  to  Jesus 
and  the  rise  of  Christianity.  Similarly,  the 
French  Jewish  scholars  Salvator  and  Darm- 
stetter.  The  late  Mr.  Joseph  Jacobs  wrote 
a  charming  study  of  Jesus  under  the  title, 


MODERN  JEWISH  ATTITUDE      171 

"  As  Others  Saw  Him,"  and  Mr.  Claude  G. 
Montefiore  has  written  both  an  appreciation 
of  the  religious  teachings  of  Jesus  and  a 
learned  commentary  on  the  Synoptic  Gospels. 
Reform  rabbis,  from  Rabbi  Isaac  M.  Wise 
down,  have  often  discussed  the  personality 
and  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  for  the  reason 
that  they  have  felt  the  Importance  of  the 
subject,  and  the  Jew's  legitimate  Interest  in 
it,  and  not,  as  some  would  have  It,  because 
of  any  leaning  to  sensationalism. 

What  conclusion,  then,  may  we  draw  as 
to  the  attitude  of  the  modern  Jew  to  Jesus? 
Perhaps  it  is  well,  first  of  all,  to  dispose  of 
the  question  asked  most  often  and  most  in- 
stinctively by  Christians,  namely,  whether 
the  modern  Jew  accepts  Jesus  as  the  Mes- 
siah. That  Jews,  whether  modern  or  an- 
cient, Reform  or  Orthodox,  do  not  acknowl- 
edge the  divinity  of  Jesus,  is  known  to  all. 
It  Is  understood  that  Jews  could  not  do  that. 


172        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

and  still  remain  Jews,  as  the  very  foundation 
of  all  Judaism  is  the  unity  and  the  spiritual 
nature  of  God,  and  the  Jewish  religion  has 
never  in  the  least  compromised  on  this  funda- 
mental principle.  Only  insofar  as  all  hu- 
manity is  divine,  formed  in  the  divine  image 
and  with  divine  possibilities,  can  the  Jew 
associate  the  idea  of  divinity  with  Jesus.  It 
is  commonly  understood  that  the  acceptance 
of  Jesus  as  Divinity  is  quite  out  of  the  ques- 
tion for  the  Jew.  But  do  the  Jews  of  to- 
day, or  any  part  of  them,  find  it  possible 
to  accept  Jesus  as  the  Messiah? 

The  answer  is  that  they  do  not  find  it 
possible  so  to  do.  And  for  the  reason  that 
the  ideas  associated  in  the  Jewish  mind  with 
the  Messiah  not  only  were  left  unrealized 
by  Jesus,  but  have  remained  unfulfilled  to 
this  day. 

The  Messiah-idea  has  been  one  of  the 
most  valuable  elements  of  Jewish  life.  Its 
origin  goes  back  to  earliest  times,  and  it  has 


MODERN  JEWISH  ATTITUDE      173 

found  an  extensive  and  manifold  develop- 
ment in  Israel.  Nor  can  any  one  study  the 
history  of  this  idea  without  realizing  that 
it  underwent  numerous  changes.  When 
Jesus  was  born,  there  was  no  uniformity  of 
interpretation  as  to  the  character  of  the  Mes- 
siah and  of  the  messianic  kingdom.  All  this 
we  gather  from  a  study  of  the  idea  of  the 
Messiah  in  Israel.  But  among  all  its  varia- 
tions, one  thing  always  remained  associated 
In  the  Jewish  mind  with  the  messianic  hope, 
namely,  that  the  messianic  age  would  be  an 
age  of  human  perfection,  of  human  happi- 
ness, of  justice  and  peace,  as  drawn  by  Isaiah 
and  other  Prophets. 

"  And  there  shall  come  forth  a  shoot  out  of  the  stock 
of  Jesse, 
And  a  twig  shall  grow  forth  out  of  his  roots. 
And  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him, 
The  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding. 
The  spirit  of  counsel  and  might. 
The  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the 
Lord. 


174        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

And  his  delight  shall  be  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord; 
And   he  shall   not  judge  after  the  sight  of  his 

eyes, 
Neither  decide  after  the  hearing  of  his  ears; 
But  with  righteousness  shall  he  judge  the  poor, 
And  decide  with  equity  for  the  meek  of  the  land; 
And  he  shall  smite  the  land  with  the  rod  of  his 

mouth. 
And  with  the  breath  of  his  lips  shall  he  slay  the 

wicked. 
And    righteousness    shall    be    the    girdle    of    his 

loins. 
And  faithfulness  the  girdle  of  his  reins. 
And  the  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb. 
And  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid; 
And  the  calf  and  the  young  lion  and  the  fatling 

together ; 
And  a  little  child  shall  lead  them. 
And  the  cow  and  the  bear  shall  feed; 
Their  young  ones  shall  lie  down  together; 
And  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox. 
And  the  sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of 

the  asp, 
And  the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the 

basilisk's  den. 
They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy 
In  all  My  holy  mountain; 


MODERN  JEWISH  ATTITUDE      175 

For  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the 

Lord, 
As  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 

Every  Jewish  messianic  hope  is  crowned 
with  that  vision.  At  the  time  of  Jesus,  it 
was  often  expressed  in  the  literature  of  the 
people.  Be  the  Messiah  whoever  he  be  — 
all  man  or  half  angel  —  be  his  origin  earthly 
or  celestial  —  be  his  kingdom  natural  or  su- 
pernatural, one  thing  was  inseparable  from 
the  very  idea  of  the  Messiah,  namely,  that 
his  coming  and  his  reign  were  to  mark  the 
beginning  of  a  period  of  human  perfection 
and  peace. 

Such  a  period  not  only  failed  to  commence 
for  the  Jews  with  Jesus,  but  to  this  day  it 
has  not  come.  The  Jews  still  hope  for  the 
messianic  age;  it  still  forms  the  acme  of 
their  religious  ideal;  they  still  wonder 
when  and  how  it  may  come;  they  still  are 
unable  to  believe  that  the  Messiah  had 
come. 


176        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

On  the  other  hand,  the  modern  Jew  real- 
izes the  ethical  power  and  spiritual  beauty  of 
Jesus.  In  this  regard  Jesus  takes  his  place 
among  the  noble  teachers  of  morality  and 
heroes  of  faith  Israel  has  produced.  It  mat- 
ters not  that  Jesus  dwelt  on  certain  aspects 
of  the  spiritual  and  the  ethical  life  that  other 
Jewish  teachers  failed  to  treat  with  the  same 
stress  or  the  same  charm.  That  constituted 
the  originaHty  of  Jesus,  and  Judaism  is  not 
averse  to  originality. 

Every  one  of  Israel's  Prophets  was  or- 
iginal in  this  sense.  While  all  sought  to 
communicate  the  same  truth,  and  to  serve  the 
same  divine  end,  each  of  them  saw  from  his 
own  point  of  view  and  spoke  with  an  em- 
phasis peculiar  to  himself:  Elijah  in  terms 
of  God's  Unity,  Amos  of  His  Justice,  Hosea 
of  His  Love,  and  so  forth.  It  would  be 
foolish  to  call  the  one  or  the  other  the  more 
original. 

The  precedent  of  the  Prophets  was  fol- 


MODERN  JEWISH  ATTITUDE      177 

lowed  by  later  Jewish  teachers.  There  were 
always  different  temperaments  and  tendencies 
represented  among  them,  often  radically  op- 
posed to  one  another.  In  the  very  age  of 
Jesus  there  were  the  schools  of  Shammal 
and  of  HlUel,  the  one  known  for  severity 
In  the  application  of  the  Law,  the  other  for 
moderation  and  flexibility.  The  synthesis 
of  both  schools  made  for  true  progress. 

Touching  the  Judaism  of  Jesus,  one  must 
bear  this  in  mind.  It  does  not  mean  that 
Jesus  was  any  less  In  harmony  with  Judaism 
because  he  accented  In  his  teaching  the  ele- 
ments of  love,  of  kindness,  of  brotherliness, 
of  Indifference  to  the  material  world  with  Its 
cares  and  rewards.  He  thus  taught  a  phase 
of  religion  that  was  part  of  Judaism,  and  that 
has  formed  the  most  precious  part  of  It  to 
many  a  Jewish  devotee.  Nor  Is  It  profitable 
to  debate  as  to  whether  those  several  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  were  duplicated  or  anticipated 
by  other  Jewish  teachers.     The  fact  is  that  in 


178        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

him  they  found  their  most  harmonious  and 
most  complete  expression,  and  that  his  whole 
personality,  as  well  as  the  story  of  his  life, 
served  to  impress  them  most  memorably  on 
the  mind  of  the  world.  The  modern  Jew, 
therefore,  cannot  fail  to  appreciate  Jesus  as 
a  religious  and  ethical  teacher. 

Of  course,  the  modern  Jew  deplores  the 
tragic  death  of  Jesus.  Yet,  if  it  was  not 
inevitable  —  which  perhaps  it  was  —  it  cer- 
tainly is  irrevocable.  Some  say  it  was  in- 
evitable, as  part  of  a  universal  scheme  of  sal- 
vation. Others  believe  that  insofar  as  it  was 
inevitable,  it  was  due  to  the  calamitous  con- 
ditions of  the  age,  which  destroyed  many  a 
Jewish  patriot  and  leader,  and  ended  by  de- 
stroying the  Jewish  state,  and  also,  in  no 
small  measure,  to  Jesus'  own  character, 
which  made  him  choose  rather  to  die  than 
try  to  disentangle  the  web  of  circumstance 


MODERN  JEWISH  ATTITUDE      179 

in  which  he  was  caught.  Yet,  Jesus  died  as 
the  true  idealist  is  ever  ready  to  die,  with 
his  ideals  untouched,  uncomprehended  but 
uncowed,  with  a  faith  in  that  Spirit  of  which 
he  ever  felt  himself  a  child  and  a  part,  whose 
sway  he  had  sought  to  spread,  and  in  whose 
keeping  he  felt  safe.  And  who  knows 
whether  it  was  not  by  this  very  death  that 
Jesus  gained  his  immortality,  that  he  won 
his  ascendancy  over  human  hearts,  and  an 
imperishable  place  in  the  affections  of  man- 
kind? The  modern  Jew  would  rather  Jesus 
had  not  died  as  he  did;  but,  after  all,  physical 
death  is  nothing  compared  to  the  eternal  life 
of  the  spirit,  and,  as  for  martyrs,  Jewish 
history  has  known  them  without  number. 

Nor  can  the  modern  Jew  fail  to  glory  in 
what  Jesus  has  done  for  the  growth  of  the 
ethical  and  spiritual  life  of  humanity.  A 
great  many  peculiar  notions  about  the  nature 
and  the  function  of  Jesus  have  accumulated 


i8o        A  JEWISH  VIEW  OF  JESUS 

in  the  course  of  the  ages.  Almost  all  of 
them  are  foreign  to  the  Jewish  conception, 
and  no  doubt  would  have  been  equally  for- 
eign to  Jesus  himself.  Jesus  was  neither  a 
Grecian  philosopher  nor  a  mediaeval  meta- 
physician, and  many  of  the  things  attributed 
to  him  he  probably  would  have  resented  even 
more  vigorously  than  the  squabbles  of  the 
Scribes  and  the  pedantic  punctiliousness  of 
the  Pharisees.  I  have  repeatedly  referred 
to  the  misunderstanding  of  Jesus  which  pre- 
vailed among  his  associates,  in  his  audience, 
and  which  he  suspected  and  dreaded  even  in 
his  disciples.  It  was  the  cause  of  his  sadness 
and  solitude.  It  made  for  his  spiritual  iso- 
lation,—  for  that  spiritual  apartness,  even 
while  among  his  companions,  of  which  we  get 
a  ghmpse  in  Leonardo  da  Vinci's  '*  Last 
Supper."  But  is  not  this  tragedy  of  mis- 
understanding even  increased  by  the  construc- 
tion which  Jesus  and  his  teachings  were  given 
in  subsequent  history? 


MODERN  JEWISH  ATTITUDE      i8i 

Yet,  these  things  apart,  who  can  compute 
all  that  Jesus  has  meant  to  humanity?  The 
love  he  has  inspired,  the  solace  he  has  given, 
the  good  he  has  engendered,  the  hope  and 
joy  he  has  kindled  —  all  that  is  unequalled  in 
human  history.  Among  the  great  and  the 
good  that  the  human  race  has  produced,  none 
has  even  approached  Jesus  in  universality  of 
appeal  and  sway.  He  has  become  the  most 
fascinating  figure  in  history.  In  him  is  com- 
bined what  is  best  and  most  mysterious  and 
most  enchanting  in  Israel  —  the  eternal  peo- 
ple whose  child  he  was.  The  Jew  cannot 
help  glorying  in  what  Jesus  thus  has  meant 
to  the  world;  nor  can  he  help  hoping  that 
Jesus  may  yet  serve  as  a  bond  of  union  be- 
tween Jew  and  Christian,  once  his  teaching 
is  better  known  and  the  bane  of  misunder- 
standing at  last  is  removed  from  his  words 
and  his  ideal. 

THE    END 

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